I promised myself I would not be upset or annoyed by any more news on the political front until after the elections, but the Associated Press neatly took care of that resolve:
Women running for top offices need to appear competent and attractive, according to a new study. For male candidates, seeming competent may be enough…
“For female candidates, it really matters if they’re perceived as competent and perceived as attractive. Those two qualities are sort of twin predictors of whether or not someone is going to be more or less likely to vote for them,” [the lead researcher] stressed.
I suspect this extends far beyond the voting booth. Not only are we less likely to vote for a woman who is perceived as “unattractive,” I bet we’re less likely to give her a leg up in any capacity. However, if a man looks like a gargoyle but spouts the right rhetoric, we’ll let him in.
And this goes beyond Sarah Palin and the flap over her Republican Party-financed makeover. A respondent to Morgan Felchner’s article in U.S. News and World Report suggested that, had Hillary been younger and more attractive, she’d be the one leading the ticket. Are you kidding me?
As a woman who never did get invited to the prom, literally or figuratively, I am really, really weary of this. First it was lookism, then sexism and now ageism. I can’t ever win. I had always hoped that, with experience, my net worth and my sense of self would grow, but it seems to keep eroding. The message seems to be that, for women, competence alone just isn’t enough.
October 31, 2008 at 10:06 am
I think to a certain degree, women have always been viewed as service objects by men.
I wish it would change.. but in this cultural environment, I don’t see it happening soon.
~*
October 31, 2008 at 10:08 am
Happy Halloween! Grab yourself a glass of wine and I’ll join you in a toast to all of us out here who didn’t get asked to the prom! Screw the status quo.
October 31, 2008 at 1:23 pm
This really is a special special place where we live.
Gargoyles. LMAO
November 2, 2008 at 8:34 am
Popped in from Unmitigated. Just had to say I never went to prom either.
November 3, 2008 at 6:52 pm
I don’t know – I’m guilty of assuming Sarah Palin is an idiot just because she’s pretty, and so is my husband.
Not that my husband is pretty. Just that he thinks SP must be an idiot, because no one is that pretty and smart too.
And I got invited to three proms. I feel I have to share that. Trust me, no one would immediately assume I can’t be smart.
November 6, 2008 at 10:54 am
I went to my prom but it sucked b/c I went with someone I didn’t want to b/c I thought I “should”.
your post is sad but true unfortunately.
I saw you on Already Pretty and thought I’d say HI!
November 6, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Ha! Ever seen new Zealand’s prime minister of the last 9 years? Though hopefully after this weekend we won’t have that sight to behold quite so often…
November 6, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Seriously, I’m sick of the media telling us how to think. The part that really pisses me off is……we keep on listening.
I’m sticking my fingers in my ears and chanting…la la la la la….
I’m not listening to their crap anymore.
November 7, 2008 at 6:42 am
Hmmm. I think I hit a nerve. Thanks for the responses, all!
And wasn’t Already Pretty’s advice great, Christine? I was so pleased she answered!