When Hillary Clinton was running for the nomination, the media treated her differently from her male opponents, commenting on such things as her clothes and her hair. Sarah Palin endured the same, once she became the nominee for vice president. I recall the photos of her in a bikini.
Nearly all of the women who are running across the country have suffered a similar fate at the hands of our mostly male media. The latest is the release of the photos of 1st Congressional District candidate Krystal Ball.
There is a double standard in politics: for men, cover the issues but for women, cover anything but. My friend, Brian Kirwin, expressed it pretty well in a post:
When are we going to put an end to smearing women in politics. I’m sick of how the media attacks Sarah Palin, Christine O’Donnell, and yes, even Krystal Ball, with a level of vitriol that they’d never launch at one of the boys. Double standards a plenty. I’ll tell ya, if the media reported what some of the guys in this game do the way they focus on these ladies, you’d have to increase the rating on the nightly news.
But the boys on the beat cover for the boys on the street. Always been that way, and it still is for the most part.
I even heard a radio talks show host complain about female politicians because they don’t wear dresses. “Look feminine,” he begged. Poor man.
Hair, clothes, makeup – I thought that was the stuff of girlie magazines, not serious political commentary. Yet we see it regularly. I don’t know what it’s going to take in order to get women treated fairly – perhaps more females in charge of newsrooms? – but we should all be embarrassed that, in this day and age, we’re still treating women like this.
~
Speaking of women – how come there are so many Republican women running for office this year? Where, pray tell, are the Democratic women? That’s not to say that Democratic women aren’t running: as the article points out, 69 of the 90 women in Congress are Democrats. But where are the young Democratic women? (And by “young” I mean under 50.)
The problem, from what I see, is that the Democratic Party really lacks a bench overall and particularly lacks a bench that includes women. If I learned nothing else over the years of being involved in politics it is that Democrats are afraid of grooming potential candidates for fear that they are growing their competition. Perhaps the Republicans do the same – but I’ve not seen the evidence. Look around locally – most of the women who are in local office are Republicans.
Women can be our own worst enemy. Some of the harshest critics of women are other women, particularly those women who came of age at a time when they might have been the only woman in the room.
I’m not a believer in supporting a woman simply because she’s female. But when qualified women are denied the opportunity to participate in our process because these “firsts” are standing in the way, it’s time for something to change.
It is time for some of these “firsts” to step aside and allow the next generation of women to achieve what they are capable of. Stop standing in the way of progress.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Ouch. I woke up this morning thinking and believing I was “young”. Then I read your post. Sigh!!!!
Hey, I’m old, too 😦
Glad we agree on this.
The real problem here is that things like this drag the level of all media down to that of the least ethical blogger. My editors and I blew this story off as trash when it broke Tuesday. But now that it’s been picked up by other papers and television we’ll have to cover it too.
Is there anyone, male or female, who didn’t do something in college they wouldn’t want to see all over the Internet?
I tried to ignore the story but it just kept getting bigger.
And I agree – few would want to see what they did in college all over the net (present company excepted, of course 😉 )
So, Krystal Ball’s ex leaked some photos of her giving a mock blow-job to a dildo that was being worn by a guy as a false nose.
That sort of garbage has gone on since Jefferson battled Adams. It is reprehensible and hurts our ability to attract competent, honest citizens to serve in elected office. Both political parties need to act to rein-in that sort of behavior.
It is lunacy for Krystal to claim that the publishing of her lewd photos was, “…unfair and sexist…”
Quite the opposite. She started the campaign by slinging mud at Mr. Wittman, and now she is on the receiving end. Unfortunately, this sort of smear has become commonplace, on both sides.
Congratulations, Ball, you are being treated (badly) just like any other candidate. After all of your earlier feminist proclamations, your pleas that you should be treated with deference, like a “lady”, now ring hollow.
Pictures or it didn’t happen. Specifically, I want to see a picture of either Adams or Jefferson mimicking a sex act upon a Halloween costume which was later used in a smear campaign against said founding father. I’ll give you two days. C’mon, buddy. It’s a wikipedia moment: [citation needed].
But seriously, referencing Adams in particular is kind of interesting in light of a discussion about women in politics because it made me think of the letters of Abigail Adams: “I cannot say that I think you are very generous to the ladies; for, whilst you are proclaiming peace and good-will to men, emancipating all nations, you insist upon retaining an absolute power over wives.”
We have a long history as a nation of barring or punishing those women who would attempt to interfere in politics simply because of their sex. It’s actually longer than our history of disenfranchising people on the grounds of their race (and that’s saying something). So in a sense, yes, “this sort of garbage has been going on since Jefferson battled Adams,” only it’s not the garbage that you think.
Thanks for putting this out there. Again, more things that needed to be said!
i cannot believe the people getting carried away by the photographs concerning krystal. they need to look in a mirror at theirselves when they attended a party and the costumes they might have worn. how about what some of our past presidents were doing at 22, coke , smoking herb, etc. i looked at the pictures and personally i see nothing sexually explicit. she is fully clothed in black and i see more from my dallas cowboy cheerleaders on sunday. people need to not throw ricks at glass houses and remember what they were doing at 22. brian i also agre with you. amzing me and vivian. politics is about destroying people instead of working towards solutions and that is a shame for the american people.
Does a double standard exist?
One example: Speaker of the House, Henry Hyde, who was 41 years old and married when he had and affair. He admitted publicly to the affair in 1998, describing the relationship as a “youthful indiscretion”.
That same Henry Hyde(R) “received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, on November 5, 2007.”
The Republicans also have a lot of Blacks running for Congress this year.
Huh?
Am I missing your meaning?
Your comment seems to be totally out of place.
Vivian remarked, “Speaking of women – how come there are so many Republican women running for office this year?”
Since she is BOTH a woman and Black, I thought the comment apropos.