Sexist “We Only Describe What Female Politicians Are Wearing” Media Moment of the Day

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Anyone who reads newspapers with any frequency recognizes the trend: reporters love to talk about what powerful women are wearing. You’ll never hear about the cut of Robert Byrd’s suit or where Harry Reid got his shoes, but, boy, does Nancy Pelosi look good in that Armani suit. And that Condi Rice has been looking fine, too — especially in boots. Smart people know that talking about Hillary Clinton’s cleavage is a meaningless (not to mention sexist) distraction from the issues, so we’ll take care to try to point out some of the more egregious examples we come across.

From today’s Washington Post:

[California Rep. Loretta] Sanchez, … resplendent in a black outfit with silver sparkles.

“Resplendent”? Really? Tongue-in-cheek or not: give me a break.

— Nick Baumann

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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