CODE PINK Alert, 21
of the co-founders and leaders of CODE PINK (Tempest, 2003). Rather than discussing Benjamin’s
leadership of CODE PINK, the writer concentrates on how her activist career has strained her family life.
While his wife was on the East Coast, Kevin Danaher, 52, a UC Santa Cruz PhD who specializes in
global economic issues, said he played the role of “Mr. Mom” back home. “We are like any
family,” he said, “in that we want our kids to do well in school and lead happy, balanced lives.”
Read uncritically, this statement may seem harmless enough. However, in the broader context of the article,
it takes on an implicit critique that Benjamin is not fulfilling her proper feminine roles. The implicit tone of
this piece is one of irony since Benjamin is part of a “women’s” group. Articles such as this illustrate a
potential danger of the press’ reception of identity politics.
Reed Johnson (2003), of the Los Angeles Times, is a bit more forthright in framing a negative story.
His narrative-style feature focuses on a self-identified feminist, Brooke Schreier, who has created a weblog
of criticism against CODE PINK. The article quotes Schreier’s criticism, yet fails to obtain an opposing
perspective from a CODE PINK representative. The article talks explicitly about Schreier’s issues, and not
her personal life. This sketch stands in contrast to Tempest’s (2003) feature on Medea Benjamin, which
concentrated on her family and relationships. Perhaps it is Schreier’s non-threatening, pro-war attitude that
encourages the writer to take her political issues more seriously. Instead of challenging the status quo, she
is openly supporting it, and she labels herself as a feminist. The following quote illustrates the article’s
overall tone: “And although a Code Pink organizer has said that ‘testosterone-poisoned rhetoric’ is behind
the push for war, Schreier thinks such attitudes smack of a monolithic and ‘retro’ view of femininity.”
Over half of the 40 articles analyzed emphasize the group’s actions, rather than the issues
symbolized by those actions. One example comes from the New York Times: “The protesters, many
wearing pink as a symbol of opposition among women to a war, carried placards and sang and chanted
slogans in a low-key demonstration organized by a group called Code Pink, a play on the national color-
coded security alert system” (“With Passion”, 2003). This quote provides only a minimal explanation of
CODE PINK’s identity and focus: women against war. The article, devoted to CODE PINK, fails to
provide the nuances of the group’s platform while concentrating on the group’s actions.
Convention