Sexist?
Filed Under Entertainment, In the News, Politics, Porchy, Sarah Palin
Is the cover above of Sarah Palin sexist?
I’m not even sure where to begin. On the one hand, this picture doesn’t seem to be particularly exploitative. I mean, she was on the cover of Runners World, presumably because she likes running. And I guess, it’s possible that Palin could run (and be photographed) in sweats. But cotton kills! So that would send an unsafe message to joggers everywhere who look to politicians for workout advice. Snark aside, I think that calling this question “sexist” is getting dangerously close to asking that women cover themselves from head to toe lest they tempt man into condemnable dalliance.
On the other hand, she’s not looking particularly politician-y here. Where’s the pant-suit, or the suit coat and skirt combos she prefers? Why is she wearing her running gear here instead of something a bit more…professional? Something that might lend her an air of seriousness?
Well, I suppose that Newsweek is making a point. I haven’t read the article but I do see that nifty headline and deck which seems to indicate they don’t think of her as being a particularly good politician or policy-maker. And to be fair, Palin continues to make it clear that she has no interest anything but te pomp and circumstance of politics either. She’s often snarked that her shopping habits, hobbies, and family life keep cropping up as headlines and interview questions but she doesn’t really give the press anything else to talk about. She’s nothing but a personal narrative. There’s no politician there, to update and instantiate a cliche.
With that in mind, it isn’t too far beyond the pale for Newsweek to snag a Runners World leftover for their cover piece on Sarah Palin. Is that sexist? I don’t think so. Their point doesn’t seem to be to sexualize her. If it was there were better pictures to be had (although it’s impossible to link to one since a Google Image search just turns up a bunch of horrible fakes). Their point isn’t to criticize her because she’s a woman. Their point, at least it seems to me, is that she’s nothing more than a personal narrative draped in red, white, and blue covering. You can take offense at that criticism, or you can agree with it, but sexism seems quite beside the point.
Some have attempted to derail the “is this sexist” question by citing evidence that we have sexualized male politicians (fascinations with Clinton’s underwear choice, “Happy Birthday, Mr. President,” shirtless Obama in Hawaii, Edwards’ haircut, etc.). So to be clear, evidence that someone somewhere has been sexist against a man doesn’t really protect the decision-makers behind this cover which, I think gets to stand as its own evidence. Is this cover sexist? No. While the true intent may remain a mystery I think it’s clear that if someone had wanted to denigrate Palin because she’s a woman, they could have. And pointing out that her legs look really good in this picture says more about you than it does about Newsweek (or Sarah Palin).
[via Steven Taylor]
Comments
4 Responses to “Sexist?”
Wha’s wrong wit being sexy?
Looked up the lyrics to “How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?” and they made me laugh.
She climbs a tree and scrapes her knee
Her dress has got a tear
She waltzes on her way to Mass
And whistles on the stair
And underneath her wimple
She has curlers in her hair
I even heard her singing in the abbey
She’s always late for chapel
But her penitence is real
She’s always late for everything
Except for every meal
I hate to have to say it
But I very firmly feel
Maria’s not an asset to the abbey
I’d like to say a word in her behalf
Maria makes me laugh
How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Maria?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o’-the wisp! A clown!
Many a thing you know you’d like to tell her
Many a thing she ought to understand
But how do you make her stay
And listen to all you say
How do you keep a wave upon the sand
Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?
When I’m with her I’m confused
Out of focus and bemused
And I never know exactly where I am
Unpredictable as weather
She’s as flighty as a feather
She’s a darling! She’s a demon! She’s a lamb!
She’d outpester any pest
Drive a hornet from its nest
She could throw a whirling dervish out of whirl
She is gentle! She is wild!
She’s a riddle! She’s a child!
She’s a headache! She’s an angel!
She’s a girl!
How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Maria?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o’-the wisp! A clown!
Many a thing you know you’d like to tell her
Many a thing she ought to understand
But how do you make her stay
And listen to all you say
How do you keep a wave upon the sand
Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?
Of Course this is a sexy pose! Consider the source of the commentary against this image and notice that in the image Palin is showing ankle. The fact that she is also showing knee and part of her upper leg make this down right pornographic! So the real commentary should by why is Newsweek using pornographic images (clearly photo-shopped because she would never agree to such a revealing photo shoot) to sell there magazines!
sexism isn’t about something as facile as whether a woman is portrayed as sexy – it’s about whether women are portrayed as anything outside of the narrow band of roles we’ve assigned to them: which typically get boiled down to some combination of: sexy, mommy, stupid or bitch.
i think this cover isn’t sexist in its immediate context… it’s a true-to-spirit representation of how palin has presented herself to the world. in fact the cover itself seems like a mild-mannered jab at her self-created image.
but the image exists in a context larger than the specific intent of Newsweek, and therefore raises the question — is palin’s entire public persona an example of sexism? is she accepted as a powerful woman only because she conforms to our norms about what a woman should be like (good mom, good looking, not threateningly smart).
both palin and clinton were portrayed in profoundly sexist ways during the campaign. by contrasting the types of sexism each of these women received from the public, we could certainly learn a little bit about what people expect their powerful women to be like.