Female Editorial Cartoonist Discusses Why There Are So Few Female Editorial Cartoonists

By: E&P Staff Why are there so few female political cartoonists? Self-syndicated "Slowpoke" creator Jen Sorensen tries to answer that question in a column posted Friday on CampusProgress.org.

"My short (and admittedly Zen-like) explanation is that there are so few female political cartoonists largely because there are so few female political cartoonists," she writes. "Without role models who look like you, or friends with similar interests, any activity becomes less inviting. It might not even cross your mind as a possibility."

Sorensen adds: "A more contemporary problem comes in the form of profitable and supposedly progressive Web publications like The Huffington Post that make it a policy not to pay for content. This business model presumes contributors have other sources of income; paying in 'exposure' instead.

"If this setup becomes the industry standard, those without ample resources, especially women and minorities, will simply not be able to afford to survive as political cartoonists."

Sorensen's complete column, only briefly excerpted above, can be seen here.