Jezebel
When Samantha Bee stood up at the Daily Show podium and faux admitted to cheating on her husband in a Spitzer-esque press conference, I wondered if there were any female politicians who had been caught red-handed (red-pantied?) in an extramarital affair. In the current issue of Newsweek, Julia Baird ponders the same question — "Why aren't more powerful public women caught up in sex scandals?" — and comes up with a few possibilities. While Baird makes note of a few female pols who have behaved badly (former Charlotte, NC mayor Sue Myrick, Idaho congresswoman Helen Chenoweth, Utah congresswoman Katherine Bryson), one of the possible reasons fewer women have been caught cheating is because there are fewer female politicians, period.
"Few [female politicians] are prominent enough to attract savage media scrutiny," Baird posits, and it seems that the ones who do, take up quiet, longterm extramarital affairs with age and class-appropriate mates, as opposed to the stripper and prostitute scandals that have plagued male pols. The ladies of The View were discussing the Newsweek story this morning, and they talked about how in a field where there's more women, like teaching, you hear more about Mary Kay Letourneau types who abuse their male underlings. What's glaring about the teacher example, and the fact that male politicians tend to have affairs with much younger and tackier women, is that both situations seem to be about power, and not about sex.
It could be argued that female politicians don't have more affairs because men don't see them as more powerful, or find that power to be attractive. Young guys want nothing to do with Hillary Clinton because power and experience and age are not valued in women in our culture. The teenage boys involved in the teacher sex scandals are so young that they can be controlled — they're not really "choosing" these older women. I don't think it's a question of whether women cheat less or are better people; it's that a female politician would have less opportunity to cheat in the first place, as the men around her are unlikely to throw themselves at her. The Newsweek article quotes former White House press secretary, Dee Dee Myers, who says, "I don't think Hillary Clinton is going to be hitting on the intern." Even if she did, would that male intern be remotely interested? That said, I think women are better liars, and if Hillary specifically were having an affair, I'm almost positive that we would never, ever find out about it.
Girls Will Be Girls. Or Not. [Newsweek]
Earlier: Samantha Bee On Silda: Does This Skirt Make My Ass Look Humiliated?
Comments
And, the most simple answer wins:
"one of the possible reasons fewer women have been caught cheating is because there are fewer female politicians, period."
I also think it has something to do with the fact that women most likely value their positions more than men, simply because they are not awarded such positions as often.
This ties in with the fact that there are less female politicians.
Also, you only have to reference the Spitzer episode to see that the two women were vilified, both his wife and the "other woman" far more than he was. A woman would have a harder time recovering from such an incident.
i guess women just have different weaknesses.
but no, powerful women seem to make a lot of men's balls shrivel up into their abdomens. even some of my supposedly liberal dude friends can't entirely back up why they hate hillary.
I have a total girl crush on Hill. I would have an awkward affair with her. Emphasis on awkward.
@jessicarabbit: Yes, but probably also a little of the "men don't find powerful women sexy" bit, too.
#1) Female politicians have to work a million times harder to get to a position of power. I think they appreciate it more and will therefore be more careful or at the very least more discreet.
#2) Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've met many, many men who get off on strong, empowered women.
#3) That is all.
#4) THAT... is all.*
*$20 to anyone who gets that reference.
I don't have anything clever to add, but I want to note that I agree with this post.
Maybe the women have to work so hard, they're too damn tired to screw around!
Only half-joking here...
@jessicarabbit: For real. I think male politicians come from a greater swath of the population. Female politicians are a smaller, perhaps more self-selecting group. There are plenty of skeezes who become male politicians, but I think the women skeezes don't have what it takes to succeed in a word that is very unfriendly to women.
@Ptarmigan: I want her to be my auntie.
@Archetype: That's a very good point. We're back to entitlement (oh, aren't we always?) Male politicians feel entitled to their power, so they get a thrill out of testing the boundaries, the possibility of being discovered doing something immoral or illegal, because they get to feel naughty without ever seriously fearing that it could ever cost them in any significant way. Women do not have the same pretensions to omnipotence. We know we have to keep working for whatever we've got.
@LaComtesse: The Devil Wears Prada?
I watched it with my mom on Friday and we just spent the whole time snarking on Anne Hathaway's character and wishing we were Meryl.
I agree with this post. The exception that proves the rule is my SO who has had a crush on Hillary since the Clintons hit the scene.
God help me, this reminds me of a family guy quote (second time that's happened today, but in the prom post I was able to refrain from making a "Prom Night Dumpster Baby" reference) when Cleveland says in a game of truth or dare that his fantasy girl is Margaret Thatcher. "What, no one else thinks power is sexy?"
*raises hand*
I'm a dude, and I find powerful women extremely attractive.
Just sayin.
The overuse of the term "cougar" as of late leads me to believe there are, in fact, many young men who are attracted to older, more powerful women.
Yup, more female poiticians would ensure more female political sex scandals. Look at any office, there are plenty of women having affairs just as men do. Ethics don't come with ovaries, Thatcher proved that.
Women have more to lose. Women in powerful positions are usually not handed those positions - they've had to work and sacrifice for them in ways that most men haven't (and yes, sweeping generalizations here, but I stand by them). And also, look what happens to male politicians who get caught - they get re-elected in many cases (Barney Frank, David Vitter), or manage to escape without being completely villified the way a woman would be.
Also, women are smarter. ;)
@impossibleoutcome: I think quite a few men do.
For some it's a fetish, for others it simply does not disqualify women as attractive, and others just happen to think powerful women are hot.
That being said, I'd say the majority of men are turned off by it.
@rocknrollunicorn: really? i find that phrase somewhat pejorative. like any single woman of a certain age is a man-eater.
Eesh, why do we care so much if politicians have affairs? It's different when they do something illegal (e.g. hookers) but otherwise, who cares who they sleep with Same sex, diff sex, no sex, extramarital sex - it's not really my business and makes no difference to how you run a government. (shouldn't, anyway).
@LaComtesse: McSweeneys?
@charlotte corday: I hate that term.
In every sexual scandal involving a male politician, the wife of the philandering husband is blamed. Does anyone remember when people said that Hillary must obviously be a "bad wife" if Bill felt the need to cheat on her? Now with Spitzer's wife, it's the same stigma. No matter what the husband does, it's somehow his wife's fault. Not many women could use that excuse. If a women cheats on her husband, she's BREAKING APART THE FAMILY and A WHORE WORTHY OF DEATH BY STONING. Males have "needs beyond what their wives provide." Bullshit.
@Archetype: Agreed. A woman has to fight so hard to make it up the political ladder that she's less likely to throw it away on a fling. Plus, perhaps women are better judges of character and are able to surround themselves with people who know how to keep their mouth shut.
@ilikenoise has an immature namtag: John Hodgeman
More men get their powerful positions due to family connections and nepotism than women. They're more likely to take it for granted because they didn't have to work half as hard. Plus, if a woman screws up once, she's out of a job. Men can screw up time and again and it's just "boys being boys". There's definately a double standard in the workplace and I feel that women have to constantly be on their best behavior while men are free to do what they want.
i think what you're saying about female power not being attractive to men is totally true, but i think another reason why female politicians have fewer scandals than male ones is because smart women just don't do that crap as much when they know what they have a lot to lose. they're like bitch, please, i'm not wasting my time on that. i wonder how many women even go to prositutes (male or female) every year? probably not many.
@CristinaS: I guess because I care when ANY person has an affair, to an extent. Because it shows some serious flaws of character. No, it usually doesn't interfere with someone's governing ability, which I think is why it's tolerated to the extent it is.
@sleepbaby: Also an excellent point.
...anyone else reminded of Jack Nicholson's clip montage-endorsement of our girl Hill?
Also British Paliament: 19.7% women GAH. Tories are teh worst main party with 9%.
Look at this table (page 12): [www.parliament.uk]
See where your country fits! Yay Rwanda! Boo Kyrgyzstan!
Because yes, there are more men politicians than women. And plenty of the male politicians have fucked around but wouldn't hesistate to tear a woman to shreds for doing the exact same thing. She's whore; they're just people who make "mistakes."
i don't know. with the number of sex scandals involving professional sex workers, i don't think the issue is exactly, powerful men have women hanging all over them and that's why they have scandals and powerful women don't because no one wants to have sex with them.
@sleepbaby: @NefariousNewt: Agreed. I can quite honestly say that I have never met a man too tired for sex.
... and America is 65th, with around 16% in both houses!
@J.D.Regent: Right, which just loops back to the fact that men are not attracted to women with power (in general).
@AthertonMerriweather: That and the "good old boys" network works for men, whereas it works against women. As such, when the machine is on your side, you figure it can protect you can against anything, and so many more male politicians feel like they are somehow "bulletproof", whereas a female politician cannot afford to piss off anyone, so she has to maintain a tighter hold on herself.
Maybe it is because men aspire to become powerful so that they can get laid all the time and most women aren't driven to positions of power by a desire to bang. I don't think that it has much to do with powerful women being any less sexy than weaker women.
Perhaps it is because women in politics typically wear conservative, unflattering pantsuits with short, usually tragic hairstyles. To be taken seriously, these women think (maybe correctly) that they have to become more masculine, thus lowering their sex appeal.
@Archetype: Well, now you have... I find myself so physically run down that while the idea of sex is enticing, I can't get the rest of my body to sign. "The mind is willing, but the flesh is weak."
@impossibleoutcome: I feel like a lot of guys find powerful woman sexy...to a point. Running a department, even a company, is sexy. A woman, gasp! running a superpower nation, well, she's taken it too far and is no longer hot.
This is obviously not my view, but what I imagine runs through the mind of many males.
There's also the pressure of "having it all" as a woman. I'm sure being a mother AND a politician doesn't leave much time for boys on the side.
@a.clever.otter: @ilikenoise has an immature namtag: No and no. And Otter, as a woman who basically WAS the Anne Hathaway character in that movie (my former boss was nicknamed "Prada" because her similarities to Miranda were scary... except that my boss had no talent), I would have to hate you if you became Miranda...
The quote is from "Strangers With Candy." Pretty esoteric.
@BadenBaden: Really? Lots of people have affairs. It's wrong but why is it your business? Seriously?
I suppose, in honesty, if I find out someone's had multiple affairs, like a friend, I secretly judge that person to be a bit skeezy, but we really have no idea what goes on in a relationship. It's tiresome, judgemental, and a uniquely American prudishness. Nobody's perfect. Look at Clinton vs. Bush. One was a cheater and the other one is a liar. Who nearly lost their position?
We should concentrate on important things.
@LaComtesse: Ah! Stephen Colbert you have me beat!
@BicSharpie: It has to do with both.
Also, the equation is not as simple as "I want power to get laid." Men like power because powerful men are more attractive in general. It's their cultural currency.