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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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 Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:09 pm Post subject: Women in Modern American Politics |
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Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Sarah Palin...
Which one has gotten the worst treatment from the media?
Well, we all know about the rumors of lesbianism and the lamp-throwing in the White House, not to mention the movie about Hillary that got clear to the Supreme Court.
Republicans no longer jog, they just jump up and down and wave their arms when they hear mention of Pelosi's name.
It looks to me like Palin has received the most positive, least hostile treatment of the three. Mainly the negative stuff about her is after she provokes it--that Katie Couric interview debacle, picking the fight with Dave, that silly thing about the photoshopped pic of her with the baby, the leaks from inside the McCain camp (or is it the Romney camp?), now the incoherent resignation announcement...
That aside, am I the only one who thinks women get treated worse than the men? (Teasing John Boehner about his fake tan is not on the same level as slamming Janet Reno's looks.) |
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Leslie Cheswyck
Joined: 31 May 2003
Location: University of Western Chile
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| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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Politics is a game for the strong.
Palin, weak and feminine.
Hillary, butch and strong.
Didn't some guy cry during the '72 campaign?
Yeah, who was he? |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:11 pm Post subject: Re: Women in Modern American Politics |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| That aside, am I the only one who thinks women get treated worse than the men? (Teasing John Boehner about his fake tan is not on the same level as slamming Janet Reno's looks.) |
What do you mean by treated worse, exactly? Talking about someone's looks is absolutely trivial. What other ways are they treated worse? |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:25 pm Post subject: Re: Women in Modern American Politics |
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| Fox wrote: |
| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| That aside, am I the only one who thinks women get treated worse than the men? (Teasing John Boehner about his fake tan is not on the same level as slamming Janet Reno's looks.) |
What do you mean by treated worse, exactly? Talking about someone's looks is absolutely trivial. What other ways are they treated worse? |
Good question. After thinking a bit, I decided what I meant was what the Supremes said in Brown vs Board of Education: separate (different) is inherently unequal. Are there separate standards for women and men in politics? |
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Manner of Speaking
Joined: 09 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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Barack Obama didn't get elected because the majority of Americans wanted a black President. He got elected because it was obvious to the majority of voters that their being white didn't matter to him.
In contrast, Clinton and Pelosi have made it abundantly clear that their gender, and the gender of the people of the people they are campaigning to and implementing legislation for, matters to them. They are more interested in advancing "women's causes" (as they define them) than in being accountable to all of the electorate. That's how Clinton lost the Democratic nomination, and it's how Pelosi has made a fool of herself. They well deserved what they ended up with. |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 10:59 pm Post subject: Re: Women in Modern American Politics |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| Are there separate standards for women and men in politics? |
No, I really don't think there are separate standards for women and men in politics. Perhaps women face some additional trivial mockery (such as your looks example), but it clearly doesn't impact their standing given the fact that your average female politician is not exactly a looker.
Honestly, I almost want to say that female politicians deliberately try to trick people into believing they are held to a higher standard in order to discredit criticism. Sarah Palin definitely does this; she claims the media is holding her to a higher standard in hopes of deflecting totally legitimate criticism. Anyone saying the inane rubbish she says would be criticized, and to be honest I'd go as far as to say that the fact that she's a moderately attractive female actually has allowed her to advance further than her credentials would otherwise allow for. Nothing about being a woman is holding her back. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:23 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Perhaps women face some additional trivial mockery (such as your looks example), but it clearly doesn't impact their standing given the fact that your average female politician is not exactly a looker. |
But is that really trivial? Since media time is limited and you've say, introduced a serious bill on widget reform, and the only mention you get on the evening news is your new hairstyle...that's demeaning.
I agree Palin gets the criticism she deserves for the wacky things she says and does, but I'm questioning if she also gets blasted unfairly above and beyond that just because she's a woman. |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:48 am Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Perhaps women face some additional trivial mockery (such as your looks example), but it clearly doesn't impact their standing given the fact that your average female politician is not exactly a looker. |
But is that really trivial? Since media time is limited and you've say, introduced a serious bill on widget reform, and the only mention you get on the evening news is your new hairstyle...that's demeaning. |
If your bill is so trivial in the mind of reporting agencies that it gets passed over in favor of news about your hairstyle, an equivalent male politician proposing the same bill would probably be ignored entirely. I think most politicians would rather at least have a tiny presence in the news cycle about their hairstyle than nothing at all. |
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Rteacher
Joined: 23 May 2005
Location: Western MA, USA
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| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:30 am Post subject: |
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On the spiritual platform, men and women are equal.
Materially, they're very rarely equal, and they are meant (by Intelligent Design) to normally perform different functions in society.
It's no accident that females involved in big-time politics are not "lookers" - they probably have more testasterone than most men.
Since God fulfills everyone's desire (adjusted by one's karma), women who want to be like men will take their next birth as men, and men who are too attached to the form of women will take birth as women. |
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