Letter to the Editor: Name It. Change It. Calls Out Sexist Calgary Herald Editorial
Another day, another disappointing incident of sexism against an elected official in Canada. On Saturday, the Calgary Herald wrote an editorial criticizing British Columbia Premier Christy Clark’s attire at a recent legislative session, and cautioned other women politicians in Canada to “dress conservatively to show respect for the position.”
After seeing Premier Clark during a televised legislative session last Wednesday, former politician David Schreck kicked off a controversy by tweeting, “Is Premier Clark’s cleavage revealing attire appropriate for the legislature?” Despite the fact that there’s no set dress code for the Canadian legislature, the Calgary Herald decided to create one themselves:
“It’s not that B.C. Premier Christy Clark was showing an inordinate amount of cleavage in the legislature Wednesday, but she might want to eschew V-neck tops for a style that won’t risk compromising her professionalism and stature in the eyes of some.”
Wearing a V-neck shirt doesn’t compromise the professionalism and stature of a woman politician, but writing an entire article calling attention to her manner of dress sure does. Instead of condemning the original remark—which is what the newspaper should have done—the Herald legitimized it by dedicating actual column inches to what women politicians should and shouldn’t wear while legislature is in session:
“These little dress code dust-ups…could be avoided if parliamentarians and provincial legislators saved their revealing raiment for their leisure hours away from the public eye, and donned modest business attire when they roam the halls of government.”
Heads up, women politicians of Canada: next time you head off to a legislative session, you may want to run your outfit by the local newspaper first.
This article is a perfect example of the kind of subtle yet harmful sexism that Name It. Change It. is trying to erase—so we wrote a letter to the editor of the Herald asking for an apology.
Check it out:
Licia Corbella
Editorial Page Editor
Calgary Herald
October 11, 2011
To Licia Corbella:
We believe your recent editorial (10/8/11) “B.C. Premier Clark should dress the part, avoid showing too much cleavage,” sets a double-standard for female politicians in terms of what is appropriate dress. While your editorial says that male politicians also need to dress “conservatively,” women politicians shouldn’t be required to wear turtlenecks for fear of offending editorial boards. It’s interesting that the boundaries of “what is appropriate to wear” are far more frequently a topic of discussion about women rather than about male politicians. This is not an accident - it’s because women are judged far more harshly than men for their appearance. Your paper even says “there is no written dress code for the legislature, nor any sartorial script to follow for premiers, male or female.” So your editorial continues the terrible tradition of judging women in the public eye by standards that are impossible to nail down and variable depending on who’s doing the judging. Your editorial adds no more clarity for any politician trying to dress herself; but we’re sure the rest of Canada’s female premiers will be happy to invite your editors into their closets to pick out their clothing.
Unfortunately, sexism like your editorial hurts all women. A study conducted by Lake Research Partners reveals that sexism, even in its mildest form, has a damaging effect on the political standing of female candidates. Sexist media coverage has a proven negative impact on voters’ likelihood to vote for women candidates, and it further perpetuates a hostile political environment experienced by women.
A sexist media environment persists for women candidates, and contributes to women’s vast under-representation in public office. Sexist representation of female candidates in the media does not promote equality and fairness in our political process, nor does it display objective journalism. The Name It. Change It. campaign confronts this problem through a coordinated rapid response network intended to dramatically decrease misogynistic media coverage of women running for elected office. The campaign ensures media accountability by monitoring these sexist incidents and working with media outlets to change the problematic coverage of female candidates.
We ask that that you issue an apology to Premier Christy Clark and all women politicians whom you’ve required to live up to your editorial board’s fashion standards.
Sincerely,
The Name It. Change It. partners:
Julie Burton, CEO/President Siobhan “Sam” Bennett, CEO/President
Women's Media Center She Should Run