The Notable Lack of Paul Ryan Porn
Today on Slate, Amanda Hess has a great piece on politics, porn and gender. Since the Romney campaign announced Paul Ryan as his running mate, comparisons have been made between the current VP nominee and his 2008 predecessor, Sarah Palin. Hess writes, “Ryan is as ripe for pornographic skewering as his veep nominee predecessor.” Indeed, like Palin, Ryan’s looks have been endlessly remarked upon, so much so that the Atlantic Wire declared that the “ ‘Republican Hottie V.P.’ Is a Thing Now.” But as Hess points out that, unlike Palin, the fascination with Ryan’s looks has not yet been capitalized on by the porn industry. The distinction is important; while the porn industry seems uninterested in producing flicks featuring male politicians, they were quick to produce Palin-inspired movies (most notably Hustler’s Who’s Nailin’ Paylin?).
The distinct lack of Ryan-inspired porn is notable in large part because it’s gendered. Though Ryan and Palin might inspire comparisons as far as looks and physical appeal are concerned, the ramifications of such an appeal are very different for male and female politicians. As our own Madeleine Gyory pointed out, “when women in politics are objectified, their power is diminished. When men in politics are objectified, their power remains intact.”
But if porn has been a tool to belittle or shame women candidates, then it’s also infused our perception of them. In particular, the media’s construction of Palin relied heavily on what Karrin Vasby Anderson identified in her 2011 study as “pornification” of women candidates. In Anderson’s estimation:
Pornification highlights sexuality in contexts that are not normally sexualized and, through the use of gender-based parody, disciplines individuals who do not conform to traditional gender norms.
Any woman running for public office clearly doesn’t “conform” to gender norms. So when media frames cast them as sex objects, it undermines their credibility as leaders. Take, for example, some of the most egregious examples from the 2008 election, Maureen Dowd’s dubbing of Palin as “Caribou Barbie,” the popularity of a Photoshopped picture of Palin’s head on a gun-toting bikini-clad body, or (as Anderson points out) the media’s insistent of Palin-as-MILF meme. Indeed, the media’s talk of Palin’s body was so influential that during the height of the campaign the most popular web searches had little to do with her policy positions and more to do with her physical attributes.
Ryan too has been the subject of web-based body curiosity, according to Politico the top four searches for Ryan are: Vice-President, Shirtless, Wiki, and Budget. No doubt interest in “Ryan Shirtless” was fueled by the numerous stories about Ryan’s workout habits and commitment to the strenuous P90X workout routine. These stories, however, use Ryan’s workout routines to paint him as a paragon of masculine health rather than to shame him as “ditzy” or “shallow” for his interest in physical fitness.
As Paul Ryan begins his address at the RNC tonight, it’s worth remembering that the double-standard is alive and well—even for vice-presidential candidates.
Published by Kate McCarthy on 08/29/2012