Sexism and Sarah
Bill McGurn ·
Jun 13, 2011 at 12:12pm
A defense of Sarah Palin, from an interesting quarter: Sen. Scott Brown's wife.
Brown’s wife of nearly 25 years, Gail Huff, is a longtime television reporter who now works for ABC’s Washington affiliate. When the couple appeared together at a Newseum event Saturday on politics and the media, Huff sharply criticized political coverage in the Beltway, particularly involving Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee.
“I thought the coverage of her when she was on the ticket was sexist,” Huff said in response to a question from the moderator. “I found it difficult many times to watch. The kind of questions she was asked were very different than the kind of questions [Sen. John] McCain was asked.”
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Dec '10
Re: Sexism and Sarah
I imagine that Sarah Palin has had to deal with sexism in press coverage from the moment she declared her candidacy for Wasilla Town Council.
I hear her complain about the LameStream Media, but I never hear her couch her criticism in terms of unfair treatment because of her gender. (Though when Andrew Sullivan questions the maternity of one of her children, it does get creepy -- even if one argues that men get paternity questions frequently enough, this seems one area where gender DOES matter.)
It's nice to see someone who's not an associate of Palin (and thus can't be accused of pro-Palin bias) criticize the MSM for unfair treatment of her.
Aug '10
Re: Sexism and Sarah
Ellie P made this point convincingly here. She then narrowed in on how much of this bias was held by women.
Female celebrities/reporters have an added edge to their disdain of all prominent conservative women, but it intensifies when they focus on SP.
I am convinced that the difference is all about glamour. There is a specific sense of this word that I intend.
Virginia Postrel lays it out concisely here and holds an ongoing conversation about it here. For brevity's sake picture in your mind that magic moment of her convention speech and we'll be on the same page.
There was almost a haze about her. In that moment it became obvious to all that she possessed a glamour. Postrel really fleshes this out well, but we all know it when we see it.
This is what they hate, this is what they fear. This is what they exulted in about Obama, this is what they set out to destroy in her. They were after her mojo because Obama's mojo was their ticket to the White House.
Glamour is more than brains and beauty, but Hedy Lamarr did invent a precursor to spread spectum technology.
Edited on Jun 13, 2011 at 8:46pmAug '10
Re: Sexism and Sarah
The coverage was sexist? Well, boo hoo. The problem is that it's utterly demented.