In what the Daily Mail described as a “wild weekend,” Malia Obama is seen in a slew of (decently creepy) paparazzi shots holding, pouring, and (most egregiously) drinking rosé with a group of her female friends. While, for most, this could hardly be described as wild, the Daily Mail eagerly reminded readers Obama doesn’t turn 21 until July – making her rosé consumption illegal and very risqué.
Some jumped at the opportunity presented by the Daily Mail to pounce on the behavior of Obama, using the hashtags #privileged and #illegal. Conservative talk show host Andrew Wilkow tweeted, “Living like the 1%? Drinking underage? Let's see the #democrats and media scream about "privilege" here...” with the link to the Daily Mail article.
Some other examples of tweets criticizing Malia Obama’s underage drinking included (by @Krossbone2):
#MaliaObama is still drinking illegally. She's underage. It's that simple. Not calling to castrate her obviously, but some form of punishment should be leveled.And (by @littlejessbent):
Oh that’s right, the left can THREATEN Barron Trump (a child) but when u simply point out that Malia Obama (an adult) is underage drinking(illegal) & being a total disgrace, acting like trash, just like her parents, y’all freak out. Please 🙄Stay classy Obamas— U are NOT missed. 🤮#MAGAThis isn’t the media’s first time criticizing Malia Obama for acting like her peers either. In November 2017 she was accused of being intoxicated at a Harvard football game in an article titled, “‘Drunk,’ Smoking & Kissing! Wild Coed Malia Obama Caught Partying at Harvard.” She was also dragged through the media in 2016 when she was caught on film smoking what appeared to be pot at Lollapalooza, a music festival. In that instance, headlines ranged from the scandalized, “EXPLOSIVE VIDEO: Malia Obama CAUGHT On Camera Smoking ‘Pot’” to some sites even going so far as to say Malia was going to be sent to rehab.
This also isn’t the first instance of sexist media coverage involving a daughter of a president (the media also ruthlessly criticized the Bush daughters while they were partying in college). To me, this seems to reek of exceptional overreaction given the allowances made to the actions of other male, adult political figures.
For example, a comparison that has emerged online is the double standard of the right critiquing Obama for her behavior, while many of these same critics were quick to give Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh a pass for his teenage drinking in the 1980s. Kavanaugh's underage drinking only came out as a side story to the much larger accusation of sexual assault by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford that was brought before the Senate during his confirmation hearings. While Kavanaugh denied Blasey Ford's allegations, he readily admitted to underage drinking, saying, "Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. I still like beer." Following Kavanaugh’s confirmation, some of his supporters even celebrated with beer on social media.
This recent media controversy (if you can even call it that) reminded me of difference feminism. In particular, Kingsley R. Browne’s article Sex and Temperament in Modern Society: A Darwinian View of the Glass Ceiling and the Gender Gap, in which Browne attribute certain characteristics to men and women based on the idea those characteristics are intrinsically attached to one’s sex, as well as our discussion of Carol Gilligan’s gender-linked analysis of ethical orientations.
Malia Obama, as a woman, has less freedom to behave like a young adult because of the limitations and expectations ascribed to women. She is expected to act maturely, as a caregiver, and without any sexual desires. So, when she is caught kissing boys and drinking alcohol while under the age of 21 it is “scandalous”, and when she smokes pot she is “bound for rehab.” But, when Brett Kavanaugh readily and, some may argue enthusiastically, admits to drinking underage and engaging in sexual conduct it’s just boys being boys.
Personally, the only opinion I have on Obama’s drinking is jealousy over the fact she gets to drink $80 rosé at a Miami beach club at 20, while I was forced to drink bagged wine in a frat basement at the same age.
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ReplyDeleteHi Katie,
ReplyDeleteYour post reminded me of the habitual negative treatment daughters of the president receive while their families are in and out of the White House. I am most familiar with the treatment Chelsea Clinton received as she spent her teen years in the White House. Chelsea received endless criticism on her looks, fashion, braces, etc. from both conservative and liberal sources. I did a bit of researching after reading your post and came across this gem of a quote from a 1996 L.A. Times articles which described Chelsea as an "ungainly girl[, who is] now a poised teenager."
It seems that the looks and conduct of presidential daughters must fit a certain mold of femininity. Chelsea's curly hair and braces made her an "ungainly girl," while Malia Obama's use of alcohol and marijuana makes her a lawbreaking misfit. I particularly appreciated your comparison of this criticism to the lack of critique on Brett Kavanaugh's underage drinking.
I also think this comparison extends more broadly to encompass the difference in treatment between men and women in politics. The fervent attacks on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, which even involved her boyfriend at one point, and, famously, on Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential run further demonstrate this double standard show that women have to watch what they do, say, and look like in order to stand a chance living life in the public. To me, that is a near impossible task.
The stress of being the "perfect woman" in society might not be so imposing with a glass of rose, though... I think Malia may be on to something there.
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ReplyDeleteKatie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this extremely pertinent post. I wrote my blog post this week on the hypocrisy inherent in scrutinizing politicians, which overlaps nicely with the issues you raise here. In my post, I discussed the disparities you address here of women being scrutinized more severely than men when they engage in the exact same conduct within the political sphere.
It is extremely disheartening to see such disparate treatment of Justice Kavanaugh and Malia Obama, especially when comparing the severity and implications of their acts. Justice Kavanaugh openly admitted to underage drinking while defending himself against accusations of sexual assault during his Senate confirmation hearings. Malia Obama’s underage drinking only surfaced when paparazzi slyly photographed her drinking rose with a group of her female friends.
Although Justice Kavanaugh and Malia Obama both engaged in underage drinking, their situations are far from analogous. Justice Kavanaugh basically gloated about his underage drinking while facing allegations of the extremely serious crime of sexual assault. Malia Obama’s privacy had to be intruded by paparazzi to even uncover her underage drinking and she had not been accused of committing other serious crimes like Justice Kavanaugh.
If anything, Justice Kavanaugh should have been scrutinized more heavily than Malia Obama given that he was seeking to be on the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land and the supposed moral compass of our nation. Malia Obama was simply engaging in activities that many college kids today do. Yet the media scrutinized her even more heavily because she is the daughter of President Barack Obama and an African American woman.
It is unfair to hold her more accountable than Justice Kavanaugh simply because she is a woman of color. The conditions under which Justice Kavanaugh and Malia Obama engaged in underage drinking varied starkly and should play a significant role in how they are portrayed in the media. In addition, with the roles of women rapidly evolving away from simply “the traditional homemaker”, our society must change its expectations of women. Women can no longer be the only ones expected to meet our society’s high moral standards.
K. Russel,
ReplyDeleteYaaaas! Your post puts the double standards in gender side by side. Sure, underage drinking is a problem and is illegal. But all of those people who are critiquing Malia Obama have likely also, at some point in their lives, had an illegal sip of alcohol. It is completely unfair that Malia Obama is attacked for acting like a young adult (she turns 21 in July--she's not 15 years old and partying) and Brett Kavanaugh gets to get away with sexual assault by saying, "I like beer."
Aside from the blatant inequality, I feel that race may have a lot to do with the criticism Malia Obama has gotten in the media. Although Taylor Foland pointed out that even Chelsea Clinton received criticism and her and Hillary Clinton are white, I think in today's political climate, if Trump's daughter had been drinking underage, none of the same people who were criticizing Malia Obama would be criticizing Tiffany Trump's underage drinking. If anything, they would say something like, "Rosé, how classy!"
Thank you so much for your insightful analysis!
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you wrote about this abhorrent double standard.
During the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, a number of accounts had described Kavanaugh's penchant for alcohol to the point where he would be "black-out drunk". Instead of focusing on the startling accusations of sexual assault and his alcoholic tendencies, many thought-pieces and Kavanaugh supporters highlighted Kavanaugh's accomplishments and how these proceedings were ruining his "pristine" reputation. In doing so, they normalized his relationship with alcohol.
On the other hand, the media coverage and outrage surrounding Malia Obama was astounding. They demonized her as a criminal for underage drinking. Instead of focusing on her " future career" and "potential" (as Kavanaugh supporters did for him), the media attacked her character and publicly denounced her actions.
Why are two public figures (one by choice, one by relation) treated by the media in completely separate ways? Why must a woman of color be held to a higher standard of "morality" compared to a white man? Let me rephrase -- why is a woman of color (a private citizen) held to a higher standard of morality compared to a white man who was up for confirmation to the highest court in the United States?
By normalizing this disparate character treatment, we perpetuate inherent race and gender discrimination wrought by the media.
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post! I, too, always worry about Malia Obama and how the media treats her. Social media has made it too easy to access people's private lives in general, but when you are a celebrity, it can be taken to a whole new level. However, Malia was never trying to be a celebrity, she was thrust into the spotlight because of her dad. It was not a choice she actively made, and we can probably assume that she wants to be treated like a regular college student, free to make regular college decisions and mistakes like drinking and smoking. College kids get away with doing this all the time. They are not shamed for indulging, though they are judged sometimes for indulging too much (by their peers though, not all of America.)
Of course, this doesn't apply to Brett Kavanaugh, who was even younger than Malia when he was getting blackout drunk most weekends in high school (and it can only be assumed college). He acted outraged that any of this was being brought up in his confirmation hearings. It's hard to feel sorry for him knowing what he did to Christine Blasey-Ford, but it is also important to note that he, unlike Malia Obama, made the choice to be held to scrutiny by keeping his hat in the ring. Moreover, this suggests that he wasn't at all ashamed of how drunk he got in high school and college in that he didn't anticipate any backlash.