Media

1 Comment Posted on by Tom Lichtel Gender, Media

Daniel Craig Hosts ‘S.N.L.,’ but Elizabeth Warren Steals the Show

This article talks about Elizabeth Warren’s appearance on Saturday Night Live in March, shortly after she left the presidential race. It goes through a number of jokes she made, some directed at the media, some at her competitors, and some about herself.

I watched this episode of Saturday Night Live, and when I later watched the clips in the “I Can See Russia From My House!” module in Canvas, I was reminded of it. SNL often provides political commentary in their weekly shows, and sometimes they even get the politicians to appear. I think when they do so, it’s usually good for them, because it shows personable attributes that we don’t see in debates and speeches. In this case, Warren was able to take ownership of some of the jokes made about her – things like her supporter consisting entirely of teachers, or her specific interest in Subarus, presumably because older, liberal women are often profiled as people who like Subarus. Generally, I think the fact that she got to talk and joke about those things herself is a good thing, especially in that it combats the stereotype that women are overly sensitive, as she successfully addressed critique and other people’s jokes about her in a lighthearted, casual way.

Leave a comment Posted on by knr5222 Media, Voting

“Problems Inherent in Political Polling”

In this New Yorker article, Jill Lepore explores the foundations of polling and media interference in American elections by exposing the history, the contradictions, and the current events surrounding polls and media coverage in the current Presidential election. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/09/the-problems-inherent-in-political-polling

 What Lepore is trying to expose here is the level of domestic interference in American elections and how misleading political polls uphold this standard of intervention. These polls reflect fame and money, two concepts that we would like to think don’t directly elect the President of the United States, but based on 2016 election results and current Democratic party candidates seeking the office, it is apparent that buying a way into American politics is more common than most Americans are aware of. The general American public is unfamiliar with the high stakes and contention surrounding the impact of polling in politics, and polls altogether are largely apprehended amongst citizens.

 It is interesting to see how little of a voice standard voters have when it comes to electing the President. This can even be seen in preceding events like nominating a candidate from each party and simply having the ability to even run for the Presidency. The media – right wing outlets especially – are quick to go to combat for the fairness and equity surrounding politics and voting, but Lepore describes social media as a public sphere that is a medium for propaganda. This can be clearly seen currently within the Democratic party and how Michael Bloomberg has been buying an excessive amount of positive ads to support his candidacy. Lepore is also sure to point out that it was the D.N.C., not the bowels of conspirators on the internet, that allowed Bloomberg to “purchase a place in the debates” and segway into a spot as a national contender. Both the media and fundamental systems of American politics stifle the democracy-based hallmarks that are commonly associated with electing a President, exposing the corruption and lack of transparency as a whole.

Leave a comment Posted on by ojg5046 Media, Stereotypes

The surreal lives of 2020 campaign spouses: What happens when your loved one wants to be president

This article explains the roles that spouses play in the presidential race. The interest in spouses and family members of candidates has grown recently because of the rise in heterosexual female candidates, which has resulted in male spouses who may become the first man in American history to be the president’s spouse. It can also be argued that the interest in families of potential candidates has grown recently because the current president has involved his own family so much in his politics during his term. It is fair to assume that the next president may do the same, and therefore when we elect the next president, we should take into account their families, who will also be involved in the white house.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/the-surreal-lives-of-2020-campaign-spouses-what-happens-when-your-loved-one-wants-to-be-president/2020/01/08/b3e57028-309d-11ea-a053-dc6d944ba776_story.html

I liked that the article included important aspects of being a supportive spouse to a candidate, including remaining professional in the eyes of the media, being their spouse’s mouthpiece during events that they cannot attend, and running family members while their spouse becomes busy with touring the country and making appearances. It was also interesting that the article included stories from current spouses of candidates and their experiences in the election. The article also included the female spouses expectations compared to their male counterparts, and it was interesting to see how women are expected to be good wives and mothers while the expectations for make spouses are much lower.

Leave a comment Posted on by aet5217 Appearance, Gender, Media, Women

Women Running for Office Have to Worry About One More Thing: Their Phones

The article talks about how men and women have to face different degrees of fear of what they post on social media. Women have to be extra careful not only about what they post on social media, but also about what might be stored on their phones. It talks about the specific case of Katie Hill, a first-term congresswoman in 2019 who was facing a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations that she’d had a sexual relationship with a member of her congressional staff, a violation of House rules, which she denied. Ms. Hill’s nude photos, released without her consent, were roaming the internet.

Women are more likely to be exposed to online harassment and abuse from running for office in the United States. This not only shows how men are treated with much ease and less confrontation when it comes to matters about what they say on social media and store on their devices, but also shows how women are disrespected publicly. Trump is known for his abusive and unprofessional language, as a President, on twitter and is still facing less scrutiny. This discourages women even further from running for political office and adds more fear to what they might be exposed to. Katie Hill is an openly bisexual congresswoman and has also faced a lot of hatred for it. All of the challenges she is facing as a bisexual woman acts as a blow to the LGBT community as well as women in politics. As more underrepresented groups face more issues like this and are scrutinized for their personal lives, democracy will end up becoming weaker because there will be fewer groups that are represented in the government whose voices and opinions are not heard. Underrepresented groups have more things to sacrifice when they run for office as compared to straight white men, making it more difficult for them to develop political careers. This article plays into our discussion in class about how women who run for office are never seen wearing casual clothes publicly and are always dressed professionally unlike their male counterparts. This just goes to show how women and the LGBT community have no privacy and are forced to put up a professional face as soon as they decide to run for office, making it hard for them to have a balanced personal and professional life.

Leave a comment Posted on by knr5222 Democrats, Media, Men, Stereotypes, Voting

“Pete Buttigieg Made History. Why has no one noticed?”

In this Washington Post Article, David Johnson explores the positivity surrounded Pete Buttigieg’s campaign and seemingly quick rise to success among the Democratic ranks. Johnson attributes Mayor Pete’s progression for the LGBT community to his moderateness, which some have attacked.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/02/11/pete-buttigieg-made-history-why-has-no-one-noticed/
David Johnson examines past efforts of Presidents to bring more LGBT representation into the White House and why they failed. President Carter faced intense bipartisan backlash in the 70s after inviting gay rights leaders to the White House, creating a sensationalized, religious group that rallied behind Ronald Reagan during the 1980 election. Following suit, Bill Clinton promised a campaign against marginalization of gays, especially in the military, but backlash resulted in him implementing the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy. These efforts were too radical for their respective time periods, and overall did little for the LGBT community. Although more LGBT people are involved in government nationwide, stereotypes and preferences still endure and Johnson points to Mayor Pete as a way of ending the perpetuating stigma. Historically, gay presidential candidates have been unsuccessful in navigating the LGBT landscape without antagonizing the conservative, religious groups. Some ultra-religious associations believe acceptance of the LGBT movement poses a threat of the same caliber as terrorism to western civilization.
Pete Buttigieg is young, moderate, married, military veteran, all of which work to uphold national security, not pose a threat to it. In regard to the Haider-Markel article, Buttigieg’s campaign shows how sexual orientation is not a deciding factory in most races, but rather his general moderate outlook allows for support from his party (Democrats), and even moderates and potentially Republican voters. Also going off of points made by Haider-Markel, Buttigieg’s military experience may position him outside of the realm of traditional “gay male femininity,” making him more receptive to voters that utilize a gender or sexuality binary when examining candidates.
David Johnson believes that Pete’s moderate stance is what has allowed him to “shatter the lavender presidential electoral ceiling,” making way for my LGBT acceptance in politics. Pete’s version of “gay” is what is palatable to the moderate America, which has yielded criticism from what Johnson refers to as the “queer left.” In regard to the Trump in Transnational Perspective article from last week, it could be argued that Pete Buttigieg’s campaign and success are upholding a nationwide, paternalist standpoint toward the LGBT community in a homonationalist perspective.
Leave a comment Posted on by clr5670 Gender, Media

Librarians Could Face Charges for ‘Age-Inappropriate’ Material Under Proposal

A new bill from Missouri is attempting to put in place a parental review panel of all children’s books going into the public libraries. The bill’s sponsor Ben Baker has a particular focus on keeping “age-inappropriate sexual material” out of children’s book sections. While this sounds well-intentioned, what Rep. Baker has a problem with is children’s books that include characters who do not have a gender expression that aligns with their biological sex or sexuality other than heterosexuality. Librarians found providing books that are not deemed suitable by the parental panel could be fined $500 and face up to a year of jail time. Their libraries would also lose state funding.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/03/us/missouri-libraries-sexual-books.html

82% of librarians are women. If this was a male-dominated field, I don’t believe there would be this kind of oversight. Not only does this bill disproportionality affect women who are decision-makers for their community, but the sponsor of this bill has made comments expressing that this bill is trying to restrict children’s exposure to gender expression outside of the binary. The bill’s sponsor, Rep Ben Baker, said, “events like Drag Queen Story Hour, and material that have a clear agenda of grooming out children for the L.G.B.T.Q. Community with adult themes and content that fit the description of an objectionable sexual nature,” were his main concern and the catalyst for writing the bill. The bill does not allow for the complete removal of the books found to be “inappropriate” from the library. The books would be inaccessible to children; parents would be able to access them. This bill targets not only books but the right for any person to express themselves. It makes it harder for children to learn about people like them and or people different from them. Overall this bill is just a gross attempt to enforce gender norms on children. Also, it could put librarians in jail, and as someone who has worked in a library, I am angered at the thought of any librarian going to jail for defending the LGBTQ+ community.

 

Cate Ryan

2 Comments Posted on by abs6083 Democrats, Gender, Media, Women

Female 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates Face a ‘Gender Penalty’ Online, Study Finds

https://time.com/5717376/female-democratic-candidates-2020-twitter-study/

This article, published in November of 2019, discusses the online regarding the gendered rhetoric of presidential candidates and how women presidential candidates in the Democratic primaries are more heavily attacked on social media, based on an analytical study of the Twitter platform and overall media coverage on the candidates. The Wilson Center, which a nonpartisanship forum center conducted the research and followed the coverage of the presidential candidates using AI technology in order to assess the narratives of the conversations regarding them. The study followed Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar and followed the conversations regarding them for a week after each of their respective official campaigns.

The study concluded that the narrative following the women candidates was particularly negative and revolved around their character and overall sense of identity rather than their campaign policies or electoral capability. The reason that most of the narratives were negatively centered is due to the belief that politics is a boys’ club, as discussed in class and in the readings. Societal views and norms have gendered politics leading to the belief that it is inherently masculine. When contemplating attributes that make a good candidate and a good president, most things that come to mind are considered “male” attributes. Women candidates are judged on their characters and morals, more so than their capability to be president; while men’s discretions and questionable character are quickly forgotten or justified. For example, the sexual harassment claim against Joe Biden was quickly forgotten by most because it did not affect his career; however, both Warren and Harris were judged on their identities. The media focused on Warren’s lie about her heritage background and deemed Harris as not fully American due to her immigrant parents, rather than focusing on their political standings such as their policies and electoral eligibility. Women are judged more harshly due to the fact that society has gendered the way we think about politics and women’s capability to hold office or “do a man’s job”.