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Conversation | 05/21/2008 8:35 am

Percentage of Voters Say They Would Never Vote for a Woman, Regardless of Qualifications

© AP

Editor’s Note: Featuring Kathleen Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, a professor of communications and the former dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

LESLEY: Well, what about sexism? Yeah, let’s talk about the second “ism.”

LIZ: Can I say something?

LESLEY: Please.

Click here to read Part One: At a Table in So-Called Liberal NYC, Woman Announces: I’ll Never Vote for a Black Man for President.

Click here to read Part Three: Who Says Older Ages Equal Serious Health Problems?

LIZ: I want to preface my remarks now by saying I’ve always been a really lousy feminist and Gloria Steinem once said that I was the worst because, she said, “Liz, you want to be the only Jew in the club.” And so I got the message then. I tried to repent. But now sexism is coming late to this discussion. I think it’s probably too late. And I think the sexists mostly all say they just don’t like Hillary. But they don’t have anything against women in office. I think if you look at the statistics, 13 percent of voters say they would never vote for a woman no matter how qualified she was. And our friend Cynthia McFadden spoke this weekend at Bryn Mawr and she said the world economic forum in Davos assessed gender equality in 93 percent of the world population, and the United States dropped from 23rd on the list in 2006 to 31st in 2007. So only 13 percent of Congress is female. Women make 77 cents for every dollar men make. I just think sexism is really alive in this world. And The New York Times had a wonderful piece in the magazine Sunday, by Peggy Orenstein, discussing this.

LESLEY: You know what’s really interesting to me? That this bubbles up at a time when Hillary Clinton won virtually half the primary votes, from lots and lots of white men, who essentially were saying they could see her as a commander-in-chief. She raised a whole lot of money; people said women would never be able to raise a whole lot of money. I mean, there is some kind of disconnect here.

LIZ: Yeah. Well, I think these discussions are too late to be of any use to her. But it all leads back to us being reminded that black men were given the right to vote in America 50 years before women received it. So nothing much has changed.

KATHLEEN: But it’s got to be possible in this kind of discussion to say that Hillary Clinton’s campaign was not the campaign that could have been waged on her behalf — there are failures in the campaign. There were failures in its assumptions about how to deal with the caucuses. One can’t say that Clinton’s candidacy faltered because of sexism; one can say that — gender and race out of the equation — tactically the Obama campaign ran a much better campaign. It figured out how to get the advantage of higher numbers of delegates in caucus states. It figured out how to go to those districts that had essentially more votes; more capacity to produce delegate strength. And it concentrated there, while the Clinton campaign was off in those areas — that had less capacity to generate the delegates — with the same amount of effort. And the Obama campaign figured out how to raise money. So, I think that sex and race are at play this year and I think that they are playing in ways that are both obvious and subtle. But, there are also all the other dynamics that come into play when campaigns do well and do poorly, regardless of race and gender.

To another point on this subject, the amount of sexism on the Internet is just appalling. And that young people will put their own names and their own identities up on space on the Internet, such as Facebook, attached to demeaning comments about women in general and Hillary Clinton in particular. And then when someone comes onto the site to object, that person will be subject to what we would call ad staminem rather than ad hominem. We should find attacks that are vulgar in the extreme disturbing, regardless of whether or not we are Hillary Clinton supporters.


LESLEY: So the idea that racism is a taboo, but sexism is fine, is alive and well on the Internet?

KATHLEEN: I believe that sexism is alive and well on the Internet. And the productive piece is that recently, after Tina Fey’s segment on "Saturday Night Live," a couple of groups have emerged to try to fight what they see as misogyny on the Internet and misogyny in mainstream broadcast.

LESLEY: And when you say on "Saturday Night Live," what misogynist —

KATHLEEN: Tina Fey. When Tina Fey went on with the segment that concludes that “bitch” is the new black, a site emerges on the web that basically plays out of that segment and produces commentary about it. And a second site emerges as well which basically takes on the concept that these sorts of attacks in broadcast and on the web, against Hillary Clinton but on misogynistic grounds, are inappropriate.

269 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Kitty Webb
Mugsy, I agree one hundred percent with your last sentence. I just don’t agree that using the word “Sweetie” is patronizing. I absolutely do believe that using the word “Boy” is patronizing and awful. And that shoulder rub incident was horrifying. The lesson is that we all need to be careful with our language and our body language. But I truly believe the Obama/”Sweetie” thing was blown out of proportion. However, just as what is and what is not sexual harrassment is in the eye of the beholder, I will grudgingly concede that if the use of “Sweetie” offends someone, then it is offensive. I just wanted to make the point that I like that word, I do not find it offensive, and I don’t believe it was his intention to disrespect that reporter, even unconsciously.
By Kitty Webb on 05/21/2008 1:14 pm
My Two Cents
Have you seen the movie Tootsie ?
By My Two Cents on 05/21/2008 4:38 pm
phyllis Doyle Pepe
Oh, Lordy, lordy, here we are discussing whether “Sweetie” is appropriate or not when there are BIGGER fishes to fry. If you don’t like being called sweetie, you come back with “apple dumplin” or “Lovin Spoonful” or whatever. Can you imagine what it is like to be any one of the candidates? They are being scrutinized to death and about such silly stuff. I think you have to acquire a mighty tough skin to soldier on month after month and I applaud both Obama and Hillary. I’m afraid I can’t do the same for McCain––––he looks like he’s asleep at the wheel.
By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 05/21/2008 6:07 pm
cat  lord
LOL LOL LOL for McCain!
By cat lord on 05/22/2008 7:25 pm
Kay Sara
Mugsy, When Bush was disrespectful to Tony Blair at that same G-8 Summit - the Brits were angry that Bush treated their Prime Minister like a lap dog. This acceptance by Blair of Bush’s disrespect played a role in Blair’s stepping down. The use of the word “Sweetie” is condescending, patronizing, shows arrogance and superiority by the one using the term and puts down the one on the receiving end. Using that term is a power trip and unless it is directed at your significant other or children- you should not insult others by suing such too inappropriate and too familiar names. Because any women also does this, does not make it okay. Poor manners are not acceptable because others also have poor manners.
By Kay Sara on 05/21/2008 5:11 pm
Margo Porter
I’ve been in the entertainment business off and on for years and I understand what you mean. This incident is outside of parlance of our industry. It’s very similar as calling an African American man “boy”. It has uncomfortable ties to an era gone by when the “sweetie” or the “boy” was deemed an individual of lesser societal value. He, of all people, should remember these things. I am not without fault myself since I find myself calling strangers “cookie”. But I am not “running” for anything.
By Margo Porter on 05/21/2008 2:47 pm
Maurine H
i agree with you, Kitty. I think it was an unfortunate choice on Sen. Obama’s part but I’m also quite sure he has a real respect for women. He has two spirited daughters and his wife is not exactly a wimp. As far as I’m concerned he can call me “Sweetie” any time he wants as long as I can call him “Sweetie”, too. Same goes for Sen. Clinton.
By Maurine H on 05/21/2008 4:34 pm
bob mirabile
I asked one of my female engineer employees if she would be offended if I called her ‘sweetie’ she told me she would ‘kick my ass’ she said its as degrogatory as ‘boy’ .the terms diminish the person. its a perjorstive phrase that has no place in our lexicon..
By bob mirabile on 05/22/2008 12:40 pm
cat  lord
Totally agree! This is total lack of class! Shows where you come from! Is he going to call presidents’s wives “sweeties”
By cat lord on 05/22/2008 8:31 pm
cat  lord
Presidents don’t use those terms! Entertainment business maybe…But with international affairs,it’s a different game that most of the masses don’t get! Sorry, we don’t need a president training on the job!
By cat lord on 05/22/2008 8:45 pm
mary lou s
pi, it is abominable that obama could dismiss our local reporter with that one word. actually, he used three or four, but he never took her seriously.
By mary lou s on 05/21/2008 2:16 pm
cat  lord
My Alias That did it to me too!
By cat lord on 05/21/2008 5:40 pm
Mugsy Peabody
Liz, I have to commend you for your working on this issue. It can’t be easy the way we give you such a hard time, eh?
By Mugsy Peabody on 05/20/2008 9:48 pm
beverly linens
Today after posting on the racism question I thought I needed to confess a prejudice against women that I’ve carried towards other women my whole life. Other teens and women have judged me harshly through the years because I was unwilling to keep my mouth shut. Even as a popular teenager I felt separate because I wasn’t willing to be pretty and quiet. I believed I not only had a right to speak up, it was my responsibility to do so if I believed I had something to contribute. Pretty popular girls were not accepted if they didn’t understand their place and I didn’t. As an adult it got worse. I acknowledge the circle I was living in being married to a football player, airline pilot and lastly a rancher placed me in arena that really wasn’t used to a women like me. My theory at the time was since I’d helped my husband achieve all those things by working and running my own business, I didn’t have to follow all the rules the women around me seem to accept. For years I thought I was weird, even the smart educated women I knew stepped into that wife’s role upon marriage. Then I saw my first copy of Ms magazine and knew there were others out there like me. It got particularly hard after we bought the ranch. The community we bought into called it his ranch. Damn my money bought that ranch too. I didn’t know how to be just somebody’s wife. I remember say out loud what the hell is a wife, maybe I wanted one too. During that time I got a job and went to work for someone else for the first time in fifteen years. Then I became a rich bitch with the men I was working with. I was mad at women all over again because it seemed like no one was standing up in this small town. I was the mouthy one again. I admit I did a lot of yelling in all directions. The result was, most of my good friends through the years have been men. Women would role their eyes when they saw me coming. I developed a wary way of dealing with most women. I’m not saying that I couldn’t vote for or enjoy the company of a woman who impressed me, I can and would. But my habit of assuming a woman isn’t interested in things that I am, just because, is something I’m trying to overcome. My daughter tells me it is reflected in my attitude towards other women and the way I talk to them. Now I confess.
By beverly linens on 05/20/2008 11:55 pm
Cat Baker
beverly, I’ve been told I had more tetestorne the hormones. Not on your level of society but know the feeling of not trusting or liking what other women were about. Felt bad for a long time until I finally realised that I had seen so many women playing “games” because they were female and thought they had the right. Shame on them. I’m blue coller,hillbilly, native american. I don’t understand women of today and feel sorry for them if they had to do anything like ..survive …or protect their own if it got to that point.(it may yet) My question to you is why you feel guility? The “media” of the world has givin us their idea of “womanhood” those of us who live in reality know it is something far different.
By Cat Baker on 05/21/2008 12:14 am