New POTUS job requirement: “A presidential look”

What, exactly, comprises the “presidential look” that according to Republican candidate Donald Trump, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton lacks? Although he demurs when asked for specifics, stating “I’m just talking about general,” (Parker, 2016), it can be concluded based on his former comments about women in general and former female political opponent Carly Fiorina in particular that there are gender politics at play in his remarks (Estepa, 2015). Unfortunately, Trump is not alone in his doubts about whether someone who looks like Clinton (i.e. female) would be able to project the aura of authority the office of the Presidency requires. The uncomfortable truth is that hidden sexism operates in our society, and many of us are uneasy with seeing women in a powerful role.

Penn State psychology professor Terri Vescio explains the gender bias that operates in the political sphere as a “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” situation, in which “the more female politicians are seen as striving for power, the less they’re trusted and the more moral outrage gets directed at them…[because] if you’re perceived as competent, you’re not perceived as warm. But if you’re liked and trusted, you’re not seen as competent” (Bush, 2016). This catch-22 for women in politics (and in business) undermines their support among both men and women, and because much of it is implicit bias, it is often unrecognized. For example, even within the Obama administration female staffers often had to struggle to make their voices heard until they struck upon a strategy of “amplification” whereby they mutually drew attention to each other’s significant contributions in order ensure that the proper party received credit for the idea (Eilperin, 2016). I point this out in order to be clear that sexism is an issue that transcends political party affiliation, and therefore we all stand to lose out if valuable contributions from women are silenced by oppression either blatant or subtle.

Hostile sexism is easier to recognize for what it is, but there is another side to sexism that is more insidious: benevolent sexism. For example, I would describe myself as a feminist, but when I took the “Are You Sexist” quiz offered by PBS.org, my results indicated that I hold a fair degree of subtle gender prejudice:

screen-shot-2016-09-26-at-4-06-57-pmI encourage you to click the link above and see your own results – you might be surprised at what you learn about yourself. Anyone familiar with the Harvard implicit bias tests will recall that we don’t have to hold explicitly negative beliefs about others to be influenced by bias. Our implicit beliefs can lead us to behave in a manner which is discriminatory while we simultaneously think of ourselves as fair and considerate.

When you combine elements of hostile and benevolent sexism you get ambivalent sexism. We can see the interplay of these elements in Donald Trump’s statements about women, both positive and negative. Recently, professor Peter Glick, who along with Susan Fiske proposed the tripartite understanding of sexism stated, “Trump’s views are consistent with conventional ideologies that view women as wonderful…but with a catch” (Glick, 2016).

“Heterosexual men’s intimate interdependence on women (as objects of desire, wives, and mothers), fosters a ‘benevolent’ side to sexism. Benevolent sexism encompasses genuine warmth toward women, but only when they support rather than challenge men’s status, power, and privileges” (Glick, 2016).

Regardless of which candidate we choose to vote for in the upcoming election, I hope that we will all pay closer attention to our own assumptions about gender and competence. Often we hold women to different standards than men without realizing that we are doing so. In light of what I’ve learned in in this course (particularly Swim and Hyer’s (1991) research regarding women’s responses to sexist comments), I will not only strive to resist social pressure to silence myself, but will also do more to support other women as they work to make their voices heard. If enough men and women do the same, perhaps we can arrive at a point sometime in the future when saying that a female political candidate doesn’t look “presidential” will fail to cause some of us to nod in agreement.

Resources:

Allen, J. (2016, July 21). Anti-Hillary Clinton rhetoric has become dangerous and violent. Retrieved September 27, 2016, from American, http://www.rushhourdaily.com/anti-hillary-clinton-rhetoric-become-dangerous-violent/

Bush, D. The hidden sexism that could sway the election. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/features/hidden-sexism/

Eilperin, J. (2016, September 13). White house women want to be in the room where it happens. Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/09/13/white-house-women-are-now-in-the-room-where-it-happens/

Estepa, J. (2015, September 10). Donald Trump on Carly Fiorina: “Look at that face!” . Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/09/10/trump-fiorina-look-face/71992454/

Glick, P. (2016). Benevolent sexism and the art of the deal. Retrieved September 27, 2016, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-enquiry/201609/benevolent-sexism-and-the-art-the-deal

Parker, A. (2016, September 7). Donald Trump says Hillary Clinton Doesn’t have “a presidential look.” Politics. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/07/us/politics/donald-trump-says-hillary-clinton-doesnt-have-a-presidential-look.html

Santhanam, L. (2016, August 10). Are you sexist? Take this quiz. . Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/are-you-sexist-take-this-quiz/

 

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4 comments

  1. Hi Sahar,
    Thanks for your comment. I agree, it’s easy to take the rights women currently have for granted, but they were each hard-won. Even fifty years ago, life in America was very different for women. This is a cultural issue, one that impacts and harms both men and women. To quote a friend of mine who is an advocate for Native American rights, “it’s an us thing,” meaning that we are all humans, so we are all in this together. The harm caused by prejudice and discrimination is ultimately borne collectively.

  2. Hi Courtney,

    Watching the way that Clinton has been held to a double-standard, especially in terms of “likability” has been incredibly upsetting to me, but I’m fascinated by the degree to which she rubs me the wrong way too sometimes. I have had to examine my own implicit biases, extricate my own reactance to her appearance and tone from my impression of her political chops and leadership ability.The different facets of sexism are all at play in her candidacy, from both without and within her party, which I think demonstrates just how caustic sexism is and how deeply embedded it is in our culture. As one recent article put it,

    “Upon becoming the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, Donald Trump said at a news conference that “if Hillary Clinton were a man, I don’t think she’d get five percent of the vote. The only thing she’s got going is the woman card.”

    While it’s one thing to voice opposition based on politics, calling out the former secretary of state for her “phony facial expressions,” or referring to her as a bimbo demonstrates just why it’s taken so long for a woman to achieve this type of milestone in the first place. Sexism is still alive and rampant. Throwing digs in politics is nothing new, but to demerit a candidate based on her appearance and wardrobe, and to question her qualifications because, quite simply, she is a woman, is not just disappointing, but also ignorant.

    One thing is for certain: Clinton may be the presumptive nominee, but we need feminism now more than ever” (Kattalia, 2016).

    I would be thrilled to work with you on some studies related to this campaign! Will you be enrolled next semester?

    Reference:

    Kattalia, K. (2016, June 7). Sexist Twitter reactions to Hillary Clinton’s Presumptive nomination will make you cringe. Retrieved October 2, 2016, from https://www.bustle.com/articles/165264-sexist-twitter-reactions-to-hillary-clintons-presumptive-nomination-will-make-you-cringe

  3. Courtney Elizabeth Sylvester

    What an excellent post! You masterfully integrated the lesson material this week with a current topic, illustrating the concepts of ambivalent and benevolent sexism as well as the Swim and Hyers (1991) study and their impact on modern society as well as your life and the lives of your audience.

    I saw something that relates to your post regarding Monday night’s presidential debate. It suggested that if Trump and Clinton’s genders were reversed, their respective behavior would have been less tolerated. Put another way, Trump and his campaign made it known that Trump did not prepare for the debate, relying instead on what he already knew and his off-the-cuff commentary, whereas Clinton and her campaign prepared studiously and comprehensively to add to her experience and knowledge (Klein, 2016). Would it be a form of sexism if people would tolerate a man who has no formal experience in politics and did not prepare for a debate but would not accept the same behaviors from a woman, particularly if the opponent had spent their entire careers in law, politics, and foreign policy? Some analysts were also pointing out other characteristics of the debate that they say are typical of sexism in society. For instance, Trump spoke for 62 percent of the debate, leaving Clinton with only 38 percent (Krantz, 2016), and he interrupted her 25 times during the debate’s first 26 minutes (Klein, 2016). Could this trend of male dominance in conversations relate to what you said about female Obama staffers trying to bolster each other’s ideas so they would be heard? Also, angry outbursts were tolerated from Trump but Clinton was required to keep her composure, and even when she did so, she was accused of looking “smug” and encouraged to smile more (Crockett, 2016). Does this difference in expected and tolerated behavior also reflect a form of sexism?

    I think the impact of gender on this campaign in general and Monday’s debate in particular may be studied for years to come. Maybe you or I could work on some of these studies, too!

    References

    Crockett, E. (2016, September 27). Clinton’s debate performance spoke to every woman who has had to humor an incompetent man. Vox. Retrieved from http://www.vox.com/identities/2016/9/27/13075552/presidential-debate-clinton-trump-sexism-double-standard-incompetent-man

    Klein, E. (2016, September 26). The first debate featured an unprepared man repeatedly shouting over a highly prepared woman. Vox. Retrieved from http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/9/26/13067798/trump-clinton-first-debate

    Krantz, R. (2016, September 27). Trump spoke for 62 percent of the debate, Clinton for 38 percent–but that’s how it always is for women. Bustle. Retrieved from http://www.bustle.com/articles/186235-trump-spoke-for-62-percent-of-the-debate-clinton-for-38-percent-but-thats-how?utm_content=bufferd7fda&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

  4. Sahar Ibrahim Alsaid

    Through out history women have come a long way in the work filed, society, education, and politics. But they did not reach those accomplishments easily. Strong powerful women fought for their rights to be treated equal to men. However, sadly sexual prejudice still exists. Some countries like Saudi Arabia women are still not allowed to drive. Here in the U.S women have a lot of political freedom, enough to run for president. But the question is, are there enough people that believe a women can run this country. As you mentioned at times we hold subconscious beliefs towards the opposite sex that we didn’t even know we had. The way a persons culture is and the society they live plays a big role in influencing those subconscious thoughts. Moreover, if we actually take the time to pause, think and look at the candidates with what they have to offer not what their sex is, we would find our selves looking at the right picture. The picture of voting for someone who has the best plan on helping the people of this country. At the end of the day,it doesn’t matter if its a male or female running the country. If Hilary doesn’t have a good plan for her presidential run she’ll fail due to that not because of her sex, and same goes for Trump. All in all, politics are very complex and a person has to be very smart in order to survive the political tug of war. Hilary deserves tons of respect for reaching this far, she keeps pushing and she exudes strength. I admire powerful women because for me as a female that comes from a male dominate culture feed off the strength of other women to empower myself.

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