
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 10, 1990                   TAG: 9004100561
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PRESS REINFORCES OLD STEREOTYPES

THE MARCH 23 Associated Press release described the famed Huxtable family of the "Cosby Show" as including "an obstetrician, his wife, and their five children." I chuckled to myself as I rephrased it to read: "an attorney, her husband, and their five children." (The fictitious Mrs. Huxtable is a partner in her law firm.) I was surprised by the sex-role stereotype in reference to a series that emphasizes sex-role equality.

Ironically, this article bordered the review of Ellen Goodman's visit to Roanoke College - a review that included her reflections on the women's movement and social change.

Please, press writers, don't reinforce outdated stereotypes. Provide new images that reflect a woman's place in the world as well as in the home. Perhaps then Goodman's work, which represents the work of many, will become easier. MARGARET NORRIS ROANOKE

by CNB