Sexism in Media coverage of 2008 Presidential Election

Throughout most of the 2008 Presidential election many important issues in our country became the forefront of discussion. One of these that personally resonated with me was the amount of sexism in the Media. Senator Hilary Clinton and Governor Sarah Palin were victims of sexism throughout both of their campaigns. Unfortunately the excessive examples demonstrating this were far too plentiful. Therefore, I decided that I would focus specifically on a YouTube video of Donnie Deutsch's interview with CNBC.

"DEUTSCH: There is the new creation that the feminist woman has not figured out in 40 years of the feminist ideal that men can take in a woman in power and women can celebrate a woman in power. Hillary Clinton didn’t figure it out. She didn’t put a skirt on! […]She [Palin] talked about energy. Didn’t matter! Today everybody’s running in circles — we want to have her over for dinner. I trust her. I want her watching my kids. I want her laying next to me in bed. That’s the way people vote" (Frick, 1).

This is just a portion of the remarks made by Deutsch in regards to Sarah Palin. While it seems that many people spoke openly and often about the Republican vice Presidential candidate, it is disheartening that the media would use sexist tactics. His comments not only condone a sexist way of thinking, but they actually promote it. Erica Falk states in her book Women For President, "Women, she argues, are always told they must strive for ideal beauty while men are to judge women on the basis of it; Wolf says the beauty myth defines a woman's cultural value in terms of her beauty" (84).

As a woman I am proud of the mere possibility that a woman could potentially be elected Vice President, let alone President, of the United States of America. Women have worked too hard to find an equal place in society. And while we have come a long way it is obvious that we are still fighting every day. Since when does the attractiveness of a man, the outfit he put on, or his parenting ability get as much press as that of a female candidate? Comments like those that Donnie Deutsch made simply continue the long line of sexism in our nation. A popular pop culture and celebrity blogger named Perez Hilton frequently referred to Sarah Palin as "Sexy Sarah." His multiple references to her appearance, clothing, and even her legs are extremely disheartening. This is a man who works so hard as a member of the gay community to achieve equality, yet stereotypically depicts women.

A well known female comedienne Sandra Bernhard said Sarah Palin would be "gang-raped by my big black brothers" if she enters Manhattan. Listening to a woman make comments that are not only sexist but that promote violence against another women is disgusting. We as women cannot truly believe that women are too emotional, or too essential in the raising of a child to be President of the United States. Host Erin Burnett even suggests to Deutsch at one point in the interview that he could, “use a four letter acronym beginning with M and ending with F.” Having these feelings simply reinforces gender identities that society and the media have forced upon all of us from the day we were born.

I understand a disagreement with fundamental beliefs of a candidate, but that is not what the media did. Instead they attacked her parenting skills, her body type, her attire, and even her degree of sexual appeal. The media needs to step up and take responsibility for the way it depicts women. And more importantly we as women cannot give up on the fight for equal treatment in every aspect of our lives.

Falk, Erica. Women For President: Media Bias in Eight Campaigns. University of Illinois Press, 17 Dec. 2007.

Frick, Ali. “CNBC host praises Palin for ‘putting a skirt on: ‘I want her laying next to me in bed.’” ThinkProgress.com. 5 Sept. 2008. Web. 6 Nov. 2008.