According to Shawn Parry-Giles, "politics in the postmodern media age is a struggle over images" (Parry-Giles, 375). I completely agree with him; whether the candidate is male or female the media always scrutinizes them based on their images and visual appearances. This statement is especially true for women. What was especially interesting to me is that Hillary Clinton is "depicted as a career woman turned feminist, a sometimes all-powerful First Lady who becomes a more traditional 'good mother,' and a 'stand by your man' wife who is victimized by a cheating husband. As Hillary Clinton's image shifts from a strong, independent feminist to a good mother and sympathetic wife/victim, her public opinion ratings improved" (Parry-Giles, 376). I don't understand why the media and society treat women in this manner. In a political candidate I would expect most Americans would want to elect a strong, intelligent, independent individual. However, this is apparently only true for male candidates. When a women is in the public eye and is portrayed as an independent feminist she is scrutinized, strongly disliked by the public, and even considered a "bitch." When the media began to portray Hillary Clinton as a good mother and a victim of her husband's extramarital activities, society began to love her and approve of her. They even went all the way as to support her when she decided to run for president this past year. But once again the media began to portray her as a strong, independent woman, with a mind of her own. The people would just not accept this image in a female candidate, however it is something they look for and even admire in a male candidate. Giles even stated that news networks such as CNN, ABC, and MSNBC promoted the stereotype that "we are to fear women with power, yet admire women with the status of victim, [such] images reward women who do not challenge the vows of marriage regardless of the circumstance while sending an ominous message to women who aspire to a position of power" (Parry-Giles, 387). I found this very disturbing and it made me begin to think: could the reason that Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign was due to the fact that Americans feared a woman in power and that the media was portraying her in a negative image because she was an independent, opinionated, strong woman? Americans were not very fond of Hillary Clinton when she first became the First Lady in 1992 since she was a very powerful First Lady and was portrayed as a feminist by the media. However after the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and the media began to portray Hillary Clinton as a good and loving mother and a wife who "stands by her man," Americans began to love her and her approval ratings shot through the roof. This is true not just for Hillary Clinton, but I think for all woman that are under the limelight. The news media has a tendency to follow this stereotypical portrayal of woman and this stereotype has made a huge impact on how Americans view the candidates and their opinions on them in this 2008 Presidential election.
Parry-Giles, S.J. (2000). Mediating Hillary Rodham Clinton: Television news practices and image-making in the postmodern age. 375-389.
1 comment:
I agree with you on how famous women are supposed to portray this "housewife" image, such as sticking to her man even when he is cheating on her. I think she was booed from the start because she was a strong feminist ever since the times when women were trying to break free from the norms of staying in the household.
Post a Comment