Last week I was watching TV with my roomie, when I saw something that irked me.
We were waiting to watch Jeopardy!, so we caught the tail end of Entertainment Tonight. Not a show that I would ever watch, or have ever watched, though what I saw didn't surprise me. Their closing segment was a break down of the women in the election and what clothin size they were (they did Hillary, Michele Obama, McCain's wife, and Palin).
Now why is that important? Why is it important that I know that Hillary Clinton is a size 10 or so, or that Michele Obama is a size 6 (I don't remember the actual number, I was too appalled to pay complete attention)?
How does knowing what clothing size these women are help me in deciding whom to support? If it's such a big deal, why don't they do it for the men? Oh that's right, because only women have an image to keep up in the media's eyes. So does that mean Hillary Clinton being a size 10, isn't fit for running the country? Or for Palin being a smaller size it would help her if she and McCain are elected into office? NO!
This is just wrong. The way that the media makes such a fuss about things like clothing size and fashion (there was also a thing about Palin setting a trend with her 'stylish' glasses), is disgusting. This is a political race not a beauty pagent. What matters is what these women stand for, what stances they have on issues, and how they plan to make a difference in the country. It is demoralizing to think that the more women we might have vying for power in this country the more people are going to look at the less important 'facts' than what really matters.
Is this what women of power are there for? To let us crituque them and discuss how they look, and their clothing choices? I shudder to think what will happen in future elections if this is already a trend in the media.
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It's pretty stupid, but I doubt Entertainment Tonight is trying to influence people's votes with this stuff. During an election year, politicians (especially female ones, though I can't explain that) become celebrities. People get creepily curious about them in the same way they would an actor, pop singer or sports star. Programs like Entertainment Tonight are just feeding on that, and they're equally shitty about actors (and other public figures).