In the historic November 2018 midterm election, 100 women won seats in the House of Representatives. Until this election, the number of seats women held in the House of Representatives never exceeded 84 out of the 435 seats available. To many, this monumental victory provided a glimmer of hope in what seemed to be a grim time for women’s rights and advancement in politics. The women who won seats in the House of Representatives came from diverse backgrounds and crafted their political agendas around pivotal issues such as providing better health care, thereby promising a fresh and relevant perspective. As Jen Cox, founder of political activist group PaveitBlue aptly noted, it is now time for women to have a “say in changing the face of politics.”
Unfortunately, the growing presence of women in politics only augments the level of scrutiny they face. In particular, the new wave of women of color politicians face the brunt of this heightened criticism. Rather than focusing on their policy platforms and political agendas for change, media outlets and male politicians quickly jump at any opportunity to criticize women of color politicians’ clothing, statements, and conduct.
For example, Eddie Scarry, a writer for the Washington Examiner, recently scrutinized Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s wardrobe. Scarry tweeted a photo of Representative Ocasio-Cortez with the caption “that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles.” Although Scarry claimed that he posted the photo to complement Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s dressing style, it is quite evident that Scarry meant to question the authenticity of Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s working-class background. Regardless of Scarry’s true intent behind the tweet, it is highly unlikely that reporters would ever subject male politicians to such belittling criticisms.
Representative Ilhan Omar faced a similar type of scrutiny when she tweeted “It’s all about the Benjamins” in response to a reporter’s tweet mentioning the contributions that the America Israel Public Affairs Committee gives to members of Congress. Specifically, her tweet insinuated that this pro-Israel lobbying group paid off right-wing members of Congress. Given the outrage that Representative Omar’s statements sparked, male Republican politicians immediately criticized Representative Omar and called for her resignation, despite her issuing an apology.
President Donald Trump, one of Representative Omar’s harshest critics, called Representative Omar “terrible” and stated that “she should be ashamed of herself.” President Trump deemed her apology inadequate and emphasized the need for Representative Omar to resign from Congress entirely or at least “certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.” Similarly, Vice President Pence called Representative Omar’s statements a “disgrace” and stated that she should “face consequences for [her] words.”
The most infuriating part about this whole debacle is the hypocrisy embodied in President Trump and Vice President Pence’s criticisms of Representative Omar. On numerous occasions over the past few years, President Trump made similar anti-semitic comments without anyone calling for the drastic consequences of resignation or removal. For example, in 2015, President Trump made statements that perpetuated stereotypes of Jewish campaign donors being “political puppet masters” and “ruthless negotiators.” Although the Republican Jewish Coalition failed to construe President Trump’s comments as directly attacking their Jewish faith, they recognized that others may interpret President Trump’s statements in that manner and urged him to publicly clarify the intent behind his statement. However, President Trump neither outwardly expressed his true intent behind making those statements nor publicly apologized for the negative insinuations that arose from it.
Instead, President Trump continued to make additional comments in subsequent years that mirrored these anti-semitic views. For example, in 2017, after the white nationalist rally took place in Charlottesville, President Trump stated that “there were very fine people marching among the Neo-Nazis shouting Jews will not replace us.” Later that year, President Trump also denounced his Jewish advisor on the National Economic Council Gary Cohn by referring to him as a “globalist”, an anti-Jewish slur commonly used in far-right political groups. Time and time again, President Trump exposes his bigotry through his outright racist statements. Yet the only calls for his impeachment arise from his alleged misconduct during his presidential campaign.
This rampant disparity in the treatment of female politicians and male politicians sheds lights on a gut-wrenching reality. No matter how much success women achieve, it is very difficult for them to establish themselves as a force to reckon with. It is difficult for the public to look at anything beyond their appearance or the mistakes they make. Despite demonstrating intellectual prowess and strong leadership skills, women predominantly receive attention for everything but their political agendas for change.
Thus, the question still remains: What can we as a society do to alleviate this disparity in treatment? Would changing perceptions of women on an individual level be sufficient or can equality only be achieved by a broader upheaval of society’s perception of women? Regardless of what the right answer is, it is evident that statements of the same caliber must be scrutinized in an identical manner, whether made by a male or female politician. The unjustified disparity in treatment of male and female politicians only creates additional barriers in the path to equality.
Unfortunately, the growing presence of women in politics only augments the level of scrutiny they face. In particular, the new wave of women of color politicians face the brunt of this heightened criticism. Rather than focusing on their policy platforms and political agendas for change, media outlets and male politicians quickly jump at any opportunity to criticize women of color politicians’ clothing, statements, and conduct.
For example, Eddie Scarry, a writer for the Washington Examiner, recently scrutinized Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s wardrobe. Scarry tweeted a photo of Representative Ocasio-Cortez with the caption “that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles.” Although Scarry claimed that he posted the photo to complement Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s dressing style, it is quite evident that Scarry meant to question the authenticity of Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s working-class background. Regardless of Scarry’s true intent behind the tweet, it is highly unlikely that reporters would ever subject male politicians to such belittling criticisms.
Representative Ilhan Omar faced a similar type of scrutiny when she tweeted “It’s all about the Benjamins” in response to a reporter’s tweet mentioning the contributions that the America Israel Public Affairs Committee gives to members of Congress. Specifically, her tweet insinuated that this pro-Israel lobbying group paid off right-wing members of Congress. Given the outrage that Representative Omar’s statements sparked, male Republican politicians immediately criticized Representative Omar and called for her resignation, despite her issuing an apology.
President Donald Trump, one of Representative Omar’s harshest critics, called Representative Omar “terrible” and stated that “she should be ashamed of herself.” President Trump deemed her apology inadequate and emphasized the need for Representative Omar to resign from Congress entirely or at least “certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.” Similarly, Vice President Pence called Representative Omar’s statements a “disgrace” and stated that she should “face consequences for [her] words.”
The most infuriating part about this whole debacle is the hypocrisy embodied in President Trump and Vice President Pence’s criticisms of Representative Omar. On numerous occasions over the past few years, President Trump made similar anti-semitic comments without anyone calling for the drastic consequences of resignation or removal. For example, in 2015, President Trump made statements that perpetuated stereotypes of Jewish campaign donors being “political puppet masters” and “ruthless negotiators.” Although the Republican Jewish Coalition failed to construe President Trump’s comments as directly attacking their Jewish faith, they recognized that others may interpret President Trump’s statements in that manner and urged him to publicly clarify the intent behind his statement. However, President Trump neither outwardly expressed his true intent behind making those statements nor publicly apologized for the negative insinuations that arose from it.
Instead, President Trump continued to make additional comments in subsequent years that mirrored these anti-semitic views. For example, in 2017, after the white nationalist rally took place in Charlottesville, President Trump stated that “there were very fine people marching among the Neo-Nazis shouting Jews will not replace us.” Later that year, President Trump also denounced his Jewish advisor on the National Economic Council Gary Cohn by referring to him as a “globalist”, an anti-Jewish slur commonly used in far-right political groups. Time and time again, President Trump exposes his bigotry through his outright racist statements. Yet the only calls for his impeachment arise from his alleged misconduct during his presidential campaign.
This rampant disparity in the treatment of female politicians and male politicians sheds lights on a gut-wrenching reality. No matter how much success women achieve, it is very difficult for them to establish themselves as a force to reckon with. It is difficult for the public to look at anything beyond their appearance or the mistakes they make. Despite demonstrating intellectual prowess and strong leadership skills, women predominantly receive attention for everything but their political agendas for change.
Thus, the question still remains: What can we as a society do to alleviate this disparity in treatment? Would changing perceptions of women on an individual level be sufficient or can equality only be achieved by a broader upheaval of society’s perception of women? Regardless of what the right answer is, it is evident that statements of the same caliber must be scrutinized in an identical manner, whether made by a male or female politician. The unjustified disparity in treatment of male and female politicians only creates additional barriers in the path to equality.
3 comments:
First, I had heard about calls for Representative Omar's resignation and seen a picture of her in a newspaper apparently looking ashamed, but I had no idea that all she did was reference the influence of money in the politics of US/Israel relations. Your analysis of this "scandal" was very insightful.
This post made me think about the impact of the media scrutiny many of the new women of color in Congress have received. I cant's name a single new male House Representative but can name at least five new women from states other than my home state of California. The media scrutiny is (perhaps inadvertently) making these women household names. While there are bound to be many detractors who take this scrutiny seriously, the media attention seems like an opportunity for the female representatives to gain influence.
Looking at the different ways that Representative Omar and Representative Ocasio-Cortez have dealt with "scandals" is telling. According to your summary of the issue, Rep. Omar backed off of the issue and issued an apology. This "scandal" seems to have made her more tepid about raising her voice (or at least that's what the media coverage seems to show).
On the other hand, any "scandal" that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has been accused of she has been able to turn into a positive. "AOC" as she is popularly known now, in a short time has grown into a household name who has more followers than House Leader Nancy Pelosi! NPR recently interviewed a historian who said that AOC can communicate a message and rally followers like Presidents Roosevelt and Reagan and Winston Churchill. https://www.npr.org/2019/01/22/687319721/putting-rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-popularity-into-historical-context
It's a skill to use sexist scrutiny to your benefit, but as AOC shows, it is possible. The question now is whether she or someone like her could get enough support to get elected President.
Anika,
I really appreciated that you highlighted this issue at a time where women's political power and scrutiny is at an all time high. The news coverage of our female elected officials has been disheartening. Not only is every word and action scrutinized to the last detail, but media coverage has focused on the flaws of each female candidate instead of their cogent political philosophies and platforms.
As of now, five women are in the running for the presidency in 2020. While I am excited about the possibility of a female president, I am not looking forward to the hours of coverage based on what these candidates are wearing (especially what statements their outfits make), whether they are "nice" enough to be electable, or whether they are "hawkish" enough to serve as commander-in-chief. Conversely, male candidates are subject to coverage based on their policies and past political achievement.
I really hope that the media is cognizant of how it is perpetuating gender discrimination through its coverage and works hard to provide even-handed stories that focus more on substance than form.
Great post! I have been following the Representative Omar "scandal" and have been pretty upset by the responses. I am Jewish, and I honestly hate how vocal the Jewish community is being on what I view as the wrong side of this debate. Criticizing a government, it's lobbying practices, where it's boarders should be, how it uses force against those that should be considered citizens, or its Apartheid-esq state is not anti-Semitic. Anti-Semitic is saying the state has no right to exist.
The mischaracterization of Representative Omar's comments itself is belittling to the Jewish people. It seems to imply that you can never question anything about Jewish people, their motives, or how they treat people. This country has been very anti-Semitic in the past, with numerous historical examples too lengthy to begin naming. And, America is still very anti-Semitic today. But this is not anti-Semitism, and to characterize it as such is nonsense.
Additionally, I think this characterization only picked up traction because she is a woman of color. Had a white man in Representative Omar's shoes said the same thing, I do not believe the news would have picked up the coverage of the issue in the same way. Especially compared to Donald Trump and all the nonsense he has said.
And I understand that I am likely in the minority in the Jewish community on this issue, but I thought it worth bringing up that not all Jews are so Zionist (which I view as straight up nationalism). And in this conversation, I have a special place of privilege so it is important that I speak up when I can.
Sorry for making the comment so much about me, but I wanted to share. You wrote an amazing entry, and thank you for sharing it with us!
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