Hillary Clinton says misogyny played a role in her loss. Research suggests she might be right. [View all]
Source: Washington Post, by Amber Phillips
In her first interview since November about November, here's how Hillary Clinton diagnosed her loss to Donald Trump: “Certainly, misogyny played a role. I mean, that just has to be admitted. And why and what the underlying reasons were is what I'm trying to parse out myself.”
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We'll probably never know whether voters' prejudice against a female potential president contributed to Clinton's loss — or if it did, to what degree. But we do know that research has clearly demonstrated that voters hold female politicians to a different standard (read: double) from their male counterparts.
As I wrote a month before the presidential election, research from the nonpartisan Barbara Lee Family Foundation, which studies women in politics, found that women can't just be themselves when they run for office. They constantly have to contemplate what their looks, clothes and smile (whether they smile) project to voters, in a way men don't.
Take for instance the foundation's research that voters care whether their female politicians are likable, an attribute that is not something they need from their male political leaders. Among the suggestions the foundation put together for aspiring female politicians to navigate voters' sometimes-confusing expectations of public women:
• Don't pose for a head shot. Instead, circulate more-candid, informal photos...
• Do share personal anecdotes when explaining why you're passionate about an issue or how you've helped constituents...
• Don't take credit all the time for your accomplishments...
• Do recognize your hair, makeup and clothes will be scrutinized...
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Even before Clinton lost, she was hinting at the outsize role she thought her gender was playing in the election. Two months before the election, she remarked that “it's especially tricky for women” to come across as both serious and likable.
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Read it all at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/04/08/hillary-clinton-says-misogyny-played-a-role-in-her-loss-research-suggests-she-might-be-right/?utm_term=.e49e47189d6d&wpisrc=nl_most-draw14&wpmm=1
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