In
comparing the media coverage between comparable male and female politicians, it
is often easy to see that they are both equally criticized and applauded for
decisions and political actions. However, there are often noticeable gender
biases in political candidate’s coverage. As society tends to have certain
gendered expectations for men and women, they also expect these to match the
tendencies of their politicians. Therefore, they expect men to be aggressive
and powerful while the women should be approachable and compassionate. This
easily translates into the language and type of coverage surrounding male and
female candidates. Therefore, a close
comparison of two comparable politicians and their respective media coverage
can yield interesting results.
So is the case with Nancy Pelosi
and John Boehner. Having both served as Majority Speaker of the House of
Representatives, they have received fairly equal coverage in their political
spheres. Neither politician was particularly popular, as they both receive a
lot of criticism for their strong political opinions and actions. Speakers of
the House tend to become the easy target for criticisms of either political
party, and such has been true for both Pelosi and Boehner. And yet, there are
noticeable differences in the way that the media has treated Pelosi and
Boehner. Many more articles have been written on the fashion and appearance of
Pelosi, specific, derogatory female terms have been used against her, and then
the unique situation of her position as the first woman to serve as the Speaker
of the House. All of these factors contributed to an unfair, gendered bias
towards Pelosi in media coverage of her as a politician.
Erika Falk, the head of the
master’s program at John Hopkins University, recently studied eight female
candidates in 2008 and discovered each “received about ‘four physical
descriptions for every one that described a man.’… about 29 percent of articles
about Hillary Clinton contained a physical description” (Ferla 3). This
research applies perfectly to Nancy Pelosi’s media coverage because there are
many articles regarding her fashion and appearance. A quick Google search of
either Boehner or Pelosi with the key word “fashion” proves the point. Only one
relevant article appears for Boehner, while countless appear for Pelosi (see
Bibliography for an extensive list of these articles).
Pelosi has particularly hit the
spotlight in the category of fashion and appearance because she has been
applauded for her fashion sense, which was ironically chosen by her husband
(Alvarez 3). The Huffington Post releases mid-year style reports on her, and The New York Times Lizette Alvarez even
went so far as to say, “Fashion
authorities say Mrs. Pelosi should be applauded for her color choice… Women
are already taking note of her style; orders of Tahitian pearls have skyrocketed”
(Alvarez 1). While there is a legitimate place for a discussion on fashion and
appearance and its effect on politics, it is clear that Pelosi has received
unfair coverage on her fashion sense, while Boehner’s fashion is extremely
ignored. This disparity in media coverage demonstrates that there was a large
focus on her appearance, leaving a gap in coverage on the issues and her
opinions. This also leads reporters and writers to draw conclusions on Pelosi’s
leadership style based on her appearance, which clearly crosses a line into
unfair and biased reporting.
The English language makes it difficult for commentators to
find biting terms for male politicians, as many of the typical characteristics
expected of politicians are masculine. However, it becomes easy to find
specific, demeaning words for women in politics because they often are stepping
outside of the traditionally expected bounds of femininity. Two such examples
are ‘shrew’ and ‘harpy.’ These harsh terms have been liberally applied to
Pelosi in her coverage, both by online commenters and actual reporters (Parkinson
5 and Kimball 1). But perhaps an even greater offense comes in phrases such as “the
pink-painted halls of her private chambers” and “You’re the one who lives next
to Phil,” she squeals, talking to a skinny blonde” (Grigoriadis 1). These
particularly feminized criticisms of Pelosi come from Vanessa Grigoriadis in The New York Magazine. They point out
her feminine traits in negative ways, illustrating her pink walls and squealing
voice. These gendered terms cannot be seen in the descriptions of Boehner
because hyper-masculinized traits can only be seen as positives rather than
negatives in the political spectrum.
This final point is more of a side note, as it is a disparity
in coverage simply because of Pelosi’s unique position as the first female
Speaker of the House. Chris McGreal of The
Guardian remarked, “Pelosi is being heralded as the most powerful woman in
American history and the most powerful Speaker of the House of Representatives
in a century” (McGreal 1). This pioneer position as the first woman and first
Italian-American gives Pelosi a different amount of coverage and commentary in
the media than Boehner. It is inherently gendered because it is a part of women’s
history, but this is not necessarily a positive or negative difference. Rather,
it is a simple gendered difference worth noting.
In short, men and women certainly experience differences in
political coverage based off of inherent gendered biases. Pelosi and Boehner
are no exception to the rule. Pelosi was differently covered based on fashion
and appearance, gendered, disparaging terms, and her status as the first female
Speaker of the House. These differences can be seen in the political coverage
of all politicians, and critical readers should watch for them and be aware of
the inherent cultural gendered biases in American politics.
Bibliography
Alvarez,
Lizette. "Speaking Chic to Power." The
New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Jan.
2007. Web. 09 Nov. 2012.
Ferla, Ruth La. "The Fashion Conservatives." The
New York Times. The New York Times, 21
Oct. 2010. Web. 09 Nov. 2012.
Grigoriadis,
Vanessa. "Why Is Nancy Pelosi Always Smiling?" Why Nancy Pelosi Remains
Upbeat Despite Dwindling Poll Numbers --. New York Magazine, 1 Nov. 2009. Web. 09
Nov. 2012.
"John Boehner 8TH District of Ohio." John
Boehner. U.S. House of Representatives, n.d. Web.
09 Nov. 2012.
Kimball, Chase. "Pat Bagley, Liberal." The Salt Lake Tribune. The Salt Lake
Tribune, 21 Aug.
2012. Web. 8 Nov. 2012.
McGreal,
Chris. "Nancy Pelosi: Is This the Most Powerful Woman in US History?" The
Guardian.
Guardian News and Media, 26 Mar. 2010. Web. 09 Nov. 2012.
Parkinson,
John, and Arlette Saenz. "Pelosi Says GOP Plan on Student Loan Rate
‘Assault on
Women’s Health’." The
Note. ABC News, 26 Apr. 2012. Web. 8 Nov. 2012
“Representative Nancy Pelosi." Representative Nancy Pelosi. U.S. House of Representatives,
n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2012.
Singer, Emily.
"Nancy Pelosi's Midyear Style Report." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 July 2011. Web. 09 Nov 2012.
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