BuzzFeed A-Blaze about Elizabeth Warren’s Jacket
While addressing Ohio’s Miami University last night, vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan donned a baby blue collared shirt and pressed khaki pants—yet no media sources paused to comment about his clothing. An article in today’s Washington Post remarked that Ryan was “bright,” but it was referring to Ryan’s intellect, not his shirt.
Then why did yesterday’s article in BuzzFeed insist on dropping in a mention about what Elizabeth Warren wore during a campaign stop? BuzzFeed writer Rosie Gray felt it was important to mention that while campaigning in Dorchester, Warren was “wearing a pink blazer and sandals.” We’ve said it before and we’ve said it again, the extra media scrunity paid to women candidate’s hair, nails, or perfume is not real news—it’s just plain sexist.
Until media coverage is able to pass The Reversibility Test, Name It. Change It. will continue to fight for equal coverage of male and female candidates. Writing about a woman’s clothing at a press conference detracts from the real issues at hand; namely, what this person is able to accomplish besides getting dressed in the morning.
It is frustrating to have to spell out sexism in the media over and over again. Our regular readers have seen countless examples of sexist media coverage, from loaded remarks to sexual innuendo, and know that sexist language prevents female candidates from receiving the same benefits and respect as their male colleagues. Unfortunately, we encounter so much sexist media coverage at Name It. Change It. that we understand that the media creates an unleveled playing field for women who run for office. Until we can eliminate that atmosphere, we must continue to explain to the media why sexist coverage is both unequal and unfair to women who run for public office.
Published by Kate McCarthy on 08/16/2012