Paper Example on Sexism in the News Coverage of 2020 U.S. Presidential Candidates

Introduction

The Upcoming Presidential election is already intensifying even though it is still quite too early. The 2020 presidential election is bound to be a historic one for the fact that many women from the Democratic party have shown interest in vying for the seat of the president of the United States, a number so big like has never been seen before. They include the likes of Elizabeth Warren- Massachusetts Senator, California Senator Kamala Harris, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand amongst others.

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All the women who have shown interest in contesting for the presidency are respected revolutionists who have excelled not only in their respective professional careers but also in their political careers. Like their male counterparts running for the coveted seat, these women are competent and are very capable of serving the country as its head of state and commander-in-chief. Unfortunately, women candidates face a lot of challenges while running for offices like this one. The question of likability and competence are directed at them the moment they announce their candidacy. Their male counterparts do not usually face such harsh questions. Instead, some of them are even endorsed immediately by the voters and the media.

The media is very much a factor to blame in gender bias directed at the female aspirants. This is because it plays a very big role in reporting occurrences and stories involving these candidates. One time a reporter asked Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York if she was perhaps too nice to face Donald Trump after she announced her bid to the White house (Siddique, 2019). Kamala Harris, on the other hand, had the media meddling in her dating history immediately after announcing her candidacy. This amounts to an infringement on the privacy and the personal life of an aspirant.

Is the media solely responsible for the backlash on the women candidates? Are we wrongfully accusing the media when in reality these candidates deserve such scrutiny? The scrutiny of the female presidential candidate is unacceptable since it points out to gender bias and sexism in seeking the presidency, a Democratic seat in a democratic country like this. Moreover, our country has made serious strides in human rights upheld. Anybody should have an equal opportunity as the rest to hold office and to vie for any political position of their choice.

Male candidates do not face as much scrutiny as the female ones. Occasionally you will hear a reporter asking a female candidate how she will manage to create a balance between raising her family as a mother and serving the country as a president. This is ironical because even the male candidates have families. The male candidates also have the mandate to take care of their families. Is it a sole woman's job to be there for their kids? These questions, when reflected upon and answered correctly will give a correct insight into this whole issue.

Clinton's 2016 loss of the election is a perfect case study to base this debate on. Clinton faced thorough scrutiny from the media about her looks (particularly her hair), her laugh (which was said to be witchlike), her marriage, her voice (which was regarded as shrill and weak and thus pointed out to her being too weak for the position) and her health. All such minor flaws, something all humans must have, were taken with a lot of seriousness to undermine their capabilities.

Male candidates hardly face such critics or when they did it was quickly talked about and put aside after a short while. One example that demonstrates this is the issue with Trump's hair which was tossed aside before even being 'examined' thoroughly by the mainstream media and social media as is always the case with female candidates. A male candidate having a voice such as Clinton's would be quickly considered passionate. Clinton vividly outlines all the challenges she faced as a woman candidate in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election in her book, "What Happened."

It will almost be a crime to forget the email scandal involving Clinton which the media blew out of proportion. It had a lot of coverage from time to time and possibly negatively impacted Clinton's campaign since Trump used this a tool against her. In this way, the media could have aided Trump in defeating her since they covered a conspiracy without known tangible facts, possibly misguiding the voters as a result. Issues of Trump's health were highlighted on the low note while Clinton's health was discussed 'loudly' by the media. Among the numerous flaws of Clinton's campaign in 2016, the underlying idea is that she was disadvantaged by her gender (Sullivan, 2019).

The unfair treatment of women in scenarios like those discussed above has been there since time immemorial. In her book "Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny," Kate Manne, a philosophy professor at Cornell University argues that women are likely to be judged as hostile by the voters when they run for public offices or domains that are male-dominated. This explanation from a professional philosopher easily points out the issue before us ahead of the 2020 presidential elections. The media, many times unknowingly, contribute to the bias that is directed towards women running for the presidency. It does this by increasing society's belief in the same matter. Manne also noted in the book that women are less likely to be viewed as competent enough. (Alaimo, 2019)

This debate on sexism in the presidential election coverage by the media is of much significance to women and gender issues in the United States. Apart from creating an awareness campaign due to this sensitization, more women get encouraged to fight for their rights as well as their place in society. Being that the discussions on gender bias are currently at the national level since it has affected matters presidential election, the women at grass root who could not make their voice be heard can now air their views on the same matter. Even though such discussions are at the preliminary stage, more of such will ensure that women voice their concerns regarding the kind of leadership they want.

Women make up the largest proportion of people living in many countries in the world than males. However, they are underrepresented. They, therefore, need to get as many leaders as possible to help serve their concerns, being that they are the majority. Bodies like UN Women are now reaching out to women like never before to help them on matters leadership. The organization supports women's political participation. It also advocates for fair opportunities for women to campaign and register to vote and protect them from election-related violence. (UN Women, n.d.).

Conclusion

Women in the United States are thirstier than ever before for the fight for positive media portrayal of female aspirants. Dianne Bystrom, for example, has organized a lecture dubbed "But Is She 'Likeable?' Gendered Media Coverage of Women Presidential Candidates" which will focus on how the media cover the male and female presidential aspirants differently and its effects on the election. She is the director emerita of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. The lecture will take place at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union beginning's Sun Room (Barrera, 2019).

References

Alaimo, K., 2019. What women presidential candidates are facing. Retrieved from

https://edition-m.cnn.com/2019/04/09/opinions/women-candidates-voter-bias-alaimo/index.html.

Barrera, M., 2019. Gendered media coverage focus of lecture on women presidential candidates. Retrieved from

www.iowastatedaily.com/news/gendered-media-coverage-women-in-politics-candidates-presidential-elections-bias-likability-lectures-iowa-state-carrie-chapman-catt-center-dianne-bystrom/article_00f445ce-6619-11e9-beb1-6b9ea0b0c1d6.html.

Siddique, S., 2019. Why women 2020 candidates face 'likability' questions even as they makehistory. Retrieved from

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/04/why-the-likability-question-pursues-2020-female-candidates-even-as-they-make-history.

Sullivan, M., 2019. How sexist will the media's treatment of female candidates be? Rule out 'not at all'. Retrieved from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-sexist-will-the-medias-treatment-of-female-candidates-be-rule-out-not-at-all/2019/02/15/117158e4-2fcb-11e9-8ad3-9a5b113ecd3c_story.html?utm_term=.fe9b6a2b09f9&noredirect=on.

UN Women, n.d. Elections. Retrieved from

www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/elections.