It is customary for the media to scrutinize new nominees to the Supreme Court. But little did Elena Kagan realize when she accepted President Obama’s invitation to join the august body of intellect that her softball batting stance would be the center of a national media frenzy. This came after a 17-year-old picture of Kagan playing softball was posted on the cover of The Wall Street Journal last week.
In the above clip, which aggregates the media response to the photo, includes quotes like:
- “She plays a mean game of softball.”
- “She likes to play softball. She likes to play poker.”
- “A softball bat symbolizes a certain lifestyle.”
- “It is clearly an allusion to her being gay.”
- “Please tell us if your nominee is or not. It’s a legitimate question.”
Featured above is a clip from Infomania’s segment “That’s Gay,” which takes a look at media portrayal of the gay community and sexuality issues in general. On this week’s episode, host Brian Safi covers the media portrayal of Supreme Court nominee Kagan.
How legitimate is all this attention? Was it responsible of The Wall Street Journal to post such an old image that clearly framed Kagan in a specific (and questionably irrelevant) light? Is it important to know if Kagan is gay before she can assume the bench? Is it appropriate for the media to focus in on this aspect of Kagan rather than her qualities and experience?
This is appalling! What about the PERSON!