You Never Really Hear About Mitt Romney’s Ankles
OK, I admit it: when I wrote about the sitcom Veep, I fretted over the less than buttoned up wardrobe that the first female vice president character, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, wears.
I’m looking forward to seeing the USA Network new series on Political Animals to see how they portray the Hillary-esque main character played by Sigourney Weaver. So much pop culture, so little time, and meanwhile a serious election is going on!
Recently when I talked with Americas Radio News network about how the media treats women candidates, I had a chance to say more about this fraught topic.
And the Women’s Media Center blog posted this review of my America’s Radio News podcast.
In the wake of hints from the Romney presidential campaign that it may be considering a woman for the vice-presidential slot on the ticket, Women’s Media Center board member Gloria Feldt was on America’s Radio News Network to talk about media treatment given to female political candidates, and what kind of effect it may have on other women considering a run.
Says Gloria, “Women’s physical appearance and their sexuality is so often the first thing that you hear about, before you hear about what they believe about issues, or how they’ve voted on important legislation… We heard about Hillary’s ankles, her turquoise pantsuit, we heard about her hair, we heard about her cleavage, but how much did we hear about what she really thought about the issues. That’s the thing.”
ARNN co-host Molly Paige responds, “That’s true, you really never hear about Mitt Romney’s ankles.”
The review of the America’s Radio News podcast was written by Michelle Kinsey Bruns and was published on the WMC blog.
GLORIA FELDT is the New York Times bestselling author of several books including No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power, a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to major news outlets, and the Co-Founder and President of Take The Lead. People has called her “the voice of experience,” and among the many honors she has been given, Vanity Fair called her one of America’s “Top 200 Women Legends, Leaders, and Trailblazers,” and Glamour chose her as a “Woman of the Year.”
As co-founder and president of Take The Lead, a leading women’s leadership nonprofit, her mission is to achieve gender parity by 2025 through innovative training programs, workshops, a groundbreaking 50 Women Can Change The World immersive, online courses, a free weekly newsletter, and events including a monthly Virtual Happy Hour program and a Take The Lead Day symposium that reached over 400,000 women globally in 2017.