Tuesday, February 26, 2008

A glaring double standard

For every 'presidential' and 'charismatic' bestowed on Barack Obama, there are 10 adjectives commentators have used to put down the way Hillary Clinton dresses, talks and emotes. Call this what it is – blatant sexism.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Is it really sexism? Is that why they were so generous to Al Gore? Is that why they never made snide comments about the way he dressed or how much weight he had gained? Is that why they never made fun of how artificial and wooden he was? Is that why he got a free ride and coasted to election?

Favoritism I will grant you, but in order for it to sexism the same phenomenon would have to be absent in commentary on ALL not just one male candidate.

Some commentators definitely are sexist, but the press's hatred of Clinton, irrational though it may be, is not all due to sexism. Do they use sex characteristics in making slams? Certainly, but if I recall correctly, there was a lot of talk in 2000 about Gore not being enough of an "alpha male" or a "man's man" to be president. Was that also sexist or were Clinton and Gore just two candidates that the hipsters in the press corps decided to attack?

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