{"id":38793,"date":"2012-02-16T11:50:42","date_gmt":"2012-02-16T16:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/?p=38793"},"modified":"2017-09-17T13:26:54","modified_gmt":"2017-09-17T18:26:54","slug":"election-2012-sexism-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2012\/02\/16\/election-2012-sexism-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"Election 2012 Sexism Watch (NSFW)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the official SocImages Election 2012 Sexism Watch. \u00a0We add content, as it arises, in reverse chronological order.<\/em><\/p>\n

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#9 Bachmann Pours Away Presidential Bid<\/strong><\/p>\n

How did we miss this one? Representative Michele Bachmann performed the comically gendered role of pouring water for all of the (male) Republican candidates and the (male) host at the start of the Republican Family Forum debate in Iowa this past November.<\/p>\n

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Some of the candidates seemed uncomfortable at this puzzling behavior, and the host joked, \u201cI want to begin by thanking Representative Bachmann for taking care of the water for today\u2019s event.\u201d It\u2019s possible that Bachmann only intended to pour water for the person sitting next to her, but was put on the spot when the host assumed she would pour water for everyone.<\/p>\n

This event was hosted by\u00a0CitizenLink<\/a>, the political action arm of the uber-conservative Christian organization,\u00a0Focus on the Family<\/a>. CitizenLink describes itself as a \u201cfamily advocacy organization that inspires men and women to live out biblical citizenship that transforms culture.\u201d They promote traditional families as the \u201cbuilding block of society,\u201d so it\u2019s possible that Bachmann was strategically catering to an audience that is less supportive of women in \u201cunconventional\u201d roles.<\/p>\n

Whether intentional or unintentional, Bachmann\u2019s actions highlight the contradiction between traditional gender roles and conceptions of leadership.\u00a0 And the lack of media focus on this incident illustrates how unremarkable it is for a woman to be in a service role in the company of men.\u00a0 If Governor Rick Perry had gone around the table and dutifully poured water for all of the Republican primary contenders, it would have made the front page.<\/p>\n

More Election 2012 Sexism Watch after the jump!<\/p>\n

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#8\u00a0Bachmann Enters Stage to “Lyin’ Ass Bitch”<\/strong><\/p>\n

November 25th, 2011
\nCaroline Heldman, Contributor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier this week, Michele Bachmann entered the set of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon accompanied by the musical musings of The Roots covering the Fishbone song, “Lyin’ Ass Bitch.”<\/p>\n

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Glenn Beck responded by calling Fallon a “despicable human being.” The Women’s Media Center noted that this gender slur was both “sexist and unfunny.” Fallon has since apologized.<\/p>\n

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#7\u00a0Manicure Alert<\/strong><\/p>\n

November 5th, 2011
\nCaroline Heldman, Contributor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michele Bachmann\u2019s French manicure has created\u00a0quite the chatter amongst bloggers and \u201cnews\u201d organizations (see\u00a0here<\/a> ,\u00a0here<\/a>,\u00a0here<\/a>,\u00a0here<\/a>,here<\/a>, and\u00a0here<\/a>) who are debating whether\u00a0the polish style is\u00a0classy, tacky, or even worth discussing.\u00a0 Hint: It’s not worth discussing any more than it’s worth discussing the\u00a0accumulation of dirt under Bachman’s\u00a0male competitors’ nails.<\/p>\n

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The ever-important manicure topic previously drew attention during the 2004 presidential\u00a0race when a\u00a0Fox News reporter<\/a> used\u00a0homophobic slurs in an attempt to diminish John Kerry’s candidacy.<\/p>\n

But maybe I’m overlooking the electoral influence of manicures.\u00a0 BloggerDarren Garnick<\/a> writes that “Perhaps one of the most overlooked moments of the 2008 presidential race was the endorsement of Barack Obama by Empress Stephanie, one of the nation\u2019s most influential nail polish bloggers.”<\/p>\n

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#6\u00a0“Thank God” (She Kept Her Clothes On)<\/strong><\/p>\n

October 8th, 2011
\nCaroline Heldman, Contributor<\/strong><\/p>\n

The senate race between Republican incumbent Scott Brown and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren has taken a sexist turn.\u00a0 During last Tuesday\u2019s debate, a college studentposed this question<\/a> to Warren:<\/p>\n

To help pay for his law school education, Scott Brown posed for\u00a0Cosmo<\/em>. How did you pay for your college education?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Warren responded, \u201cI kept my clothes on\u2026I borrowed money.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The topic surfaced again a few days later when Brown was asked to respond to Warren’s comment on local radio station WZLX. His response? \u201cThank God\u201d (she kept her clothes on), eliciting\u00a0raucous laughter from the male disc jockeys in the studio.<\/p>\n

This planned comment was certainly vetted by Brown\u2019s campaign and had the double impact of belittling her physical appearance and reminding voters that women are first and foremost judged by their appearance, despite other accomplishments.<\/p>\n

In this same interview, Brown went on to defend his decision to pose nude by painting Warren as an elitist. \u201cBottom line is, you know, I didn\u2019t go to Harvard, you know, I went to the school of hard knocks, and I did whatever I had to do to pay for school,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing.\u00a0 Elizabeth Warren did not attend Harvard.\u00a0She’s the\u00a0daughter of a janitor who started waiting tables when she was barely a teenager, and later worked and borrowed to pay her way through the University of Houston and Rutgers School of Law.\u00a0Warren worked her way up to becoming a professor at Harvard Law School.<\/p>\n

In addition to attending the school of “hard knocks,” Brown also attended Tufts University and Boston College School of Law.<\/p>\n

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#5\u00a0Bachmann Denies Sexism<\/strong><\/p>\n

September 27th, 2011
\nCaroline Heldman, Contributor<\/strong><\/p>\n

From\u00a0The Factor, September 26, 2011<\/a>:<\/p>\n

O\u2019Reilly: \u201cDo you think you\u2019re being treated differently because you\u2019re the only woman in the race?\u00a0 Here you\u2019ve got eight sweaty guys \u2013 they\u2019re all sweaty \u2013 and then you\u2019re there.\u00a0 Are you being treated differently because you\u2019re the only woman in the race, do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bachmann: \u201cYou know I don\u2019t think so. I\u2019ve never felt that way. I grew up with three brother and no sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Reilly: \u201cSo there\u2019s no gender bias, anything like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bachmann: \u201cNo, I grew up with three brothers and no sisters. That\u2019s the best preparation for politics that any girl can have.\u00a0 I don\u2019t feel in any way that I\u2019m discriminated against. I\u2019m just grateful to be able to be in the race. I think it\u2019s wonderful\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Reilly: That\u2019s refreshing to hear.\u00a0 Remember Hillary Clinton when she ran last time [scoffs], \u2018you know, I\u2019m getting hammered because I\u2019m a woman\u2026.\u2019 You don\u2019t see it that way.”<\/p>\n

Bachmann: \u201cI don\u2019t think so. All of us have to go through this.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Where to begin with this video. O’Reilly reduces men to “natural” brutes with his two kidding-on-the-square comments that the male\u00a0primary contenders are\u00a0“eight sweaty guys.” Bachmann then affirms this\u00a0idea with her contention that growing up with three brothers prepared her for politics, insinuating that she is\u00a0well versed in responding to (naturally brutish) male behavior. Can I get a “boys will be boys” here?<\/p>\n

Then, after Bachmann draws a clear\u00a0distinction in the way boys\/men and girls\/women behave,\u00a0she claims that she is not being treated differently because she is the only woman in the race. “All of us have to go through this.”<\/p>\n

There’s pressure for Bachmann to not\u00a0complain about the (obvious) sexism she faces for fear of being labeled a “victim”\/weak, even though it has likely\u00a0already cost her the candidacy<\/a>.\u00a0O’Reilly’s effusive praise\u00a0of Bachmann’s denial of sexism — “refreshing” — is evidence of this pressure.<\/p>\n

O’Reilly then scoffs at Hillary Clinton’s claim that she faced sexism in the 2008 election, despite ample\u00a0research finding\u00a0that she did (here<\/a>,\u00a0here<\/a>,\u00a0here<\/a>, and\u00a0here<\/a>), and\u00a0egregious<\/a> examples, including audience members yelling and holding up the sign “Iron My Shirt” at several campaign events.<\/p>\n

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Being the first candidate to have a nutcracker made in her likeness:<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n
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Rush Limbaugh asking about Clinton, \u201cWill this country want to actually watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis?\u201d<\/p>\n

Author Marc Rudov speaking on Fox News: \u201cWhen Barack Obama speaks, men hear, \u2018Take off for the future.\u2019 And when Hillary Clinton speaks, men hear, \u2018Take out the garbage\u2019” (in a mocking high pitch).<\/p>\n

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews describing Clinton\u2019s senatorial victory speech:<\/p>\n

It can grate on some men when they listen to it, fingernails on a blackboard… How does she do it without screaming? How does she do it without becoming grating?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Washington Post<\/em> reporter Joel Achenbach\u00a0writing that Clinton \u201cneeds a radio-controlled shock collar so that aides can zap her when she starts to get screechy. She came perilously close to going on a tirade.\u201d<\/p>\n

MSNBC\u2019s Tucker Carlson featuring Republican strategist Roger Stone, creator of the anti\u2013Hillary Clinton 527 organization, \u201cCitizens United, Not Timid\u201d\u2014or C.U.N.T.<\/p>\n

“Progressive” Air American radio host Randi Rhodes declaring at a network event that Clinton and former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro were \u201cfucking whores.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the most egregious examples of altered, degrading images of Hillary Clinton that littered the Internet during the election can be found at\u00a0Women-America<\/a> (trigger warning: nudity, pornography) and in this video montage:<\/p>\n

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Perhaps O’Reilly was channeling Chris Matthews who asked, \u201cIs Hillary out of line for painting herself as a victimized woman every time her male rivals criticize her? And do we want a president who plays the gender card every time her opponents attack her?\u201d<\/p>\n

Presidential candidates\u00a0run with the knowledge that\u00a0they will be attacked, but can O’Reilly honestly\u00a0say that Clinton wasn’t getting hammered because she was a woman given this mountain of evidence? It’s great that O’Reilly is giving face time to a female presidential contender, but his mocking dismissal of sexism on the presidential campaign trail hurts Bachmann and future female contenders.<\/p>\n

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#4 \u00a0And Then There Were Two?<\/strong><\/p>\n

September 12th, 2011
\nCaroline Heldman, Contributor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Major\u00a0news outlets have deemed the competition for the Republican nomination\u00a0contest a two-man<\/em> race, including:<\/p>\n