Huffington Post Politics Covers Sanford’s and Colbert Busch’s Clothes
Not every instance of sexism is overtly egregious, but we’ve learned from our recent research that every instance hurts women candidates nonetheless. One open question: does mentioning her male opponent’s clothing in the same way balance out the negative affects?
Huffington Post Politics Reporter Jon Ward recently wrote an article on one of the most interesting congressional races in recent history—Elizabeth Colbert Busch vs. Mark Sanford for SC-01—so they ideally would not begin the third sentence with a description of Elizabeth’s outfit. But alas, that is not the world we live in. And now we know she was wearing “a bright orange overcoat that radiated positive vibes,” because that was super relevant and necessary?
It’s worth noting that Ward also took a moment (much later) to describe what Sanford was wearing as well. Which makes one ponder: Could this mention of Sanford’s “polo shirt” and “pleated khakis” be in response to our findings?
I mean, I guess that’s one way to go with it. Or how about we just stick to the candidates and skip what they’re wearing? Honestly, is that so difficult?
Published by Kate McCarthy on 05/07/2013