Sexism within the United States is rampant and has become an unavoidable epidemic that has shaped the face of modern politics while excluding women from the past narrative of democracy. Sexism is defined as the “discrimination people face based upon sexual identity and gender,” (Smith.) which has percolated into the core infrastructure composing our government and stigma surrounding who should lead our country. The United States has had many breakthroughs in the patriarchal government that has been standard since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. These breakthroughs include the election and nomination of various women in high ranking political positions. The nomination and popularity of Hillary Clinton as the first female presidential candidate shows that although the United States was founded and run by predominately men, women are making significant progress within the representation they receive in politics. The sexism found within politics has been propagated by skewed media bias and the continuation of an underrepresentation of women compared to their male opponents. Research on media coverage of the campaigns of women running for high public office have identified “several patterns of gendered reporting that supposedly have discouraged citizens from voting for women candidates, discouraged them from contributing to women’s campaigns and dissuaded women from entering politics.” (Washburn & Washburn 2016). Hillary Clinton was defeated by her opponent Donald Trump in the 2016 election that was unpredictable and overall disappointing for feminists and women everywhere. Hillary Clinton has become the main figurehead when discussing this evident sexism within politics but many women politicians such as Sarah Palin, have faced the same obstacles and have worked to overcome the stereotype that politics is strictly a mans game. The United States is working towards a progressive acceptance of women politicians that can be paralleled to various other countries where women are leading the government. The oppression of women within the field of politics is causing a disparity in women running for office positions and wanting to get involved with politics as a whole. Politics are no longer just a mans game.
Misogyny in the political system has been evident since the beginning of time, but this research begins and focuses on the campaigns and the elections starting in 2008. The 2008 elections were comprised of Sarah Palin running against Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton was running against our current president, Barack Obama. Have You Come a Long Way, Baby? Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and Sexism in 2008 Campaign Coverage shows that “2008 was a revolutionary year that lead to the first woman presidential candidate and vice president candidate.” () Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palins’ popularity during this election both support the fallacy that women have finally gained a voice in politics and the playing field has been leveled. Ultimately, both women lost. Historically, women have faced name-calling, stereotypes, and an evident gender bias that delegitimizes the female candidate’s platform and reputation compared to their male opponent. The oppression that women face compared to their male counterparts must be analyzed and understood to understand the sexism as a whole. Bringing Out the Hook: Exit Talk in Media Coverage of Hillary Clinton and Past Presidential Campaigns, compares the 2008 Clinton candidacy with her 2016 modern presidential campaign and how the media is propagating this sexism. Overall, this article showed that Clinton faced greater and more negative “exit talk” than her male opponents. “Exit talk” is defined as the “under theorized pressures that second- place contenders for presidential nominations face to exit the race.” This article examines the negative undertone the media puts upon women in politics, especially referring to Hillary Clinton’s representation compared to Donald Trump. It was found that the women candidates face more negative “exit talks” than male candidates and women are pressured more negatively in the media. (Lawrence 2016). Another oppressive factor propagating this sexism is highlighted in the article, Is She “Man Enough”? Women Candidates, Executive Political Offices, and News Coverage. The stereotype that women are seen as “too weak to hold a government positions” is a universal oppression women have always dealt with and women politicians can never seem to live up to the mans standard. (Meeks.) This article is important because it addresses politicians such as Elizabeth Dole and Claire McCaskill who relate to the female candidates such as Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. These women are being oppressed compared to their male opponents due to the media focusing on “novelty labeling”, instead of the real political issues which has led to a degradation of the quality of politics happening within the United States. These articles emphasize the various character traits that determine whether the coverage of women and men differ, and how the world of politics is evolving to be more inclusive and representative of women candidates.
Sexism seen within the infrastructure of politics and how women are unknowingly contributing to their own oppression within the field of politics is revealed in the article; Mothers and Whores: The Relationship between Popular Culture and Women in Politics, which explores the gendered stereotypes of women in politics. White analyzes Hillary Clintons role as a mother and grandmother which has been brought to light in the recent election and the moral degradation other women politicians face due to their age and appearance. White says that “popular culture has established two polar views of women, that of mothers and whores. Conspicuously, woman as a politician does not fit easily into either one of these narrow categories; politics is largely perceived as a man’s game.” Sydney White combats the stereotypical roles of women and the types of positions that are “suitable” for women to hold. (White p.2) The satirical products you can buy such as a pantsuit-wearing Hillary Clinton nut cracker and a “Don’t vote for a bitch” sticker, show the regressions made in the popular culture portrayal of women in power.
Popular culture in politics is largely made possible due to the popularity of television and internet that has revolutionized politics as a whole. Many politician’s advertisements are used as an attack on their opponents but the advertisement published by Hillary Clinton’s campaign in June 2016, shows Hillary simply hugging a child in a school background. This advertisement focuses on her relationship with children while playing on the idea of her being a mother who has had children in the same position as this little boy. The slogan, “Stronger Together” is found in the middle of the ad which give the audience the sense of unity behind the first female presidential candidate. This ad focuses on Hillary Clintons role as a mother grandmother and most importantly as a woman role model for the younger generation. The Clinton campaign plays on the audience’s pathos by building her character up and presenting her as a relatable candidate. The advertisement does not name call or insult Donald Trump, which contrasts with the majority of advertisements were seeing at the end of the election. This ad solely shines a positive light on the characteristics Mrs. Clinton possesses and gives the audiences a reason to vote for her in the upcoming election. This advertisement helps reiterate the idea that women are under-represented not because of what happens on the campaign trail, but because they are much less likely to run in the first place.
Many other women in politics face prejudice because of their gender, yet it is only acknowledged on the scale of celebrity figures such as Hillary Clinton. Jennifer Roberts has faced and overcome sexist boundaries within local politics in Charlotte, North Carolina as she broke the glass celling of women mayors. Jennifer Roberts was a personal role model that in 2015, I was given the opportunity to work for her campaign as the assistant field director. The “continued underrepresentation “of women in politics has led to a male dominated world that women struggle to have a voice in on a local and international level. In the United States “twenty-two percent of US senators are women, twelve percent are state governors, and only 8 percent are mayors of 100 Largest Cities.” (Washburn & Washburn 2016). These shocking statistics support the claim that women are being unfairly represented within government positions as a whole within the United States, contrary to the international acceptance of many women politicians. I witnessed Jennifer Roberts single handedly defy these statistics by becoming the Mayor Elect and overcoming her male opponents. Roberts who is a mother herself, is an advocate for women’s rights, LGBTQ and has overall been a positive representation of a woman breaking the glass ceiling of politics on a local level while still facing the “duties” of being a wife and mother.
Women should support other women and strive to be role models for the next generation of girls who could pursue a career in government or another career that challenges the status quo. The oppression women face has significantly improved from past times and elections, but that does not delegitimize the fact that women politicians are still facing rampant sexism and prejudice within politics. The Hidden Sexism That Could Sway the Election does not deny the progress women have made from 1937 where “just 33 percent of Americans said they would vote for a female presidential candidate, according to Gallup’s first poll on the subject. Yet by 2015, that number had climbed to 92 percent.” Although irrefutable, this statistic does not account for the fact that women in the field of politics are still being oppressed. It is undeniable that women are “less likely than men to think about running for office, less likely to consider themselves qualified to run, and less likely to report having been recruited to enter the political arena.” The newspaper coverage of political campaigns and the gender-based patterns that seem to disadvantage women throughout the history of politics. (Smith.) This article supports the counterargument that the more recent media portrayals of female candidates are more positive. The media coverage of women politicians has exponentially gotten more positive and equal but the current 2016 election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, shows the rampant sexism still occurring today. Sexism found within politics is alive and well and hindering the future of our country by encouraging the next generation to oppose the idea of female representation within government. Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin are prime examples of two female candidates whose political success was heavily influenced by the media’s gendered representation of them and have become a vital part of the history and future of American politics. The higher representation of women has led to both male and female candidates to have fewer incentives to run substantively different and sexist campaigns which has led to media likely to cover female candidates “as women” and more as “a candidate” (Carlin & Winfrey 2008). Women must join together to defy the odds that are stacked against them, fight against the skewed media and stand up for the equal representation we deserve.
Sexism in politics is an ever9y day occurrence that Hillary Clinton worked tirelessly during the 2016 presidential election to shatter and women will continue to fight until equality is gained. The glass ceiling women politicians have worked to overcome is seemingly unbreakable when ultimately, Hillary was defeated by her male opponent Donald Trump. The 2016 candidacy of Hillary Clinton left a significant mark on the world of politics and has inspired many other women to fight for a voice in our democracy. The 2016 Congress will be comprised of a record high 21 female senators and looks to Kamala Harris, Catherine Cortez Masto, Tammy Duckworth and Maggie Hassan to uphold their new roles as political figure heads. (Schor 2016.) As active American voters and citizens must work together as a country to create equality for women in politics and for society as a whole by supporting the women who dare enter this “mans game”. Women politicians have the ability to do everything a male candidate can do, but in a killer pant suit and a pair of heels. Female political candidates receive less issue-based coverage and more negative comments, name-calling and insults than their male counterparts yet refuse to give up their voice. The negative stigma surrounding women in politics is preventing the future generation of young women from pursuing this field. In the words of Hillary Clinton, “Where do we go from here?” (Weigant 2016.)