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Newsweek Editor: Palin Cover Applied A "Gender-Neutral Standard"
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clevernamehere
11/17/09

In reply to Newsweek Editor: Palin Cover Applied A "Gender-Neutral Standard"
That photo is inappropriate for the cover of Newsweek.

I think too often the Palin hate allows people to overlook the gender issues. Whether or not you like her, how we allow Palin to be treated will ricochet back on to other female politicians. #sarahpalin
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SonicNapoleonic
11/17/09

@clevernamehere:
I second your statement. There is an obvious double standard for female politicians. #sarahpalin
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pesematology
11/17/09

@clevernamehere: I am of the same mind. #sarahpalin
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ostartero
11/17/09

@pesematology: @SonicNapoleonic: @clevernamehere: Oh yeah, I forgot where all those male candidates posed in their running gear for a magazine cover. Silly me, those sexist Newsweek people.

Palin is a joke, not because she is a woman, because she is a joke. Hillary isn't portrayed as such, because she is actually respectable. #sarahpalin
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clevernamehere
11/18/09

@ostartero: [www.runnersworld.com] There are several other politicans who posed for this feature in Runner's World.
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Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny.
11/17/09

In reply to Newsweek Editor: Palin Cover Applied A "Gender-Neutral Standard"
I am really quite torn on this issue. It's the details of the Running Weekly photo that bother me, the flag, the nails, the hair, the blackberries. It doesn't look like she wants to promote being healthy, it looks like she wants to promote being a EX-VP candidate. I feel like if she is going to use an article about fitness to visually promote her book (and that's what I feel this is) than she can't complain when someone uses that same image to promote their cause.
BUT, I don't like the underlying message of what I am saying, which seems to be, "She shouldn't have dressed like that if she didn't want trouble" So, like I said. I'm torn. #sarahpalin
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pssshwhatever
11/17/09

@Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny.: Well the thing is, she shouldn't have portrayed herself in a way that so obviously desires to capitalize on her looks if she didn't want to get called out on trying to capitalize on her looks, which appears to be what the Newsweek article is about, at least in part. It's not that she shouldn't wear running clothes - I don't think that's the issue. But taking a "running" picture that is so entirely not about running and then getting angry when people notice what you were intentionally attempting to do is just annoying. And par for the course with Sarah Palin, thus the article about her being a GOP liability. In my mind, that makes the use of the picture not only reasonable, but logical, and I think there's a distinction between what this particular editorial choice is commenting on and just criticizing women for daring to be attractive. Or maybe that's my Palin hate talking. #sarahpalin
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clevernamehere
11/17/09

@pssshwhatever: I've only seen Runner's World a few times, but isn't this pretty typical for that kind of photo? I wouldn't expect them to use photos of someone in a suit or obviously sweaty from running. Cute and in work out clothes seems par for the course. I wouldn't expect Joe Schmo runner to have his Runner's World photo put on his corporate website because he put himself out there looking all cute. #sarahpalin
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pssshwhatever
11/17/09

@clevernamehere: My dad had a subscription for my entire childhood, so I haven't seen it in a couple of years, but this strikes me as more cheesecake-y than their usual photos. I remember a lot of people in cute running gear, but not a lot of super obvious makeup, teased hair or silly props. And there were a lot of people that actually were, ya know, running. Or looked like they could go run at a moment's notice.

And the thing about Joe Schmo is that Sarah Palin isn't Joe Schmo - she's someone that's actively trying to create a public image for herself and capitalize on that, and I think that any photo shoots that she agrees to participate in are up for comment - she did this to actively promote herself and her image, after all. To me, this photo is a representation of a lot of the reasons that Sarah Palin is a problematic political candidate (she's much more comfortable doing pageant poses for magazines than she is talking about serious policy issues, and those are the publicity opportunities which she pursues), and that seems completely appropriate for the Newsweek article. #sarahpalin
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ostartero
11/17/09

@clevernamehere: Why would a politician who is running for office pose on a running magazine cover?

Publicity. She cared more about creating an image for herself than having integrity. #sarahpalin
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clevernamehere
11/18/09

@ostartero: @pssshwhatever: [www.runnersworld.com] She isn't the only politician in this gallery, although she seems to be the only female one.
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whynotshesaid
11/17/09

In reply to Newsweek Editor: Palin Cover Applied A "Gender-Neutral Standard"
The day I see Tim Pawlenty's legs on the cover of Newsweek is the day I stop thinking this was sexist.

Fuck you, Newsweek, for making me side with Sarah Palin. Assholes. #sarahpalin
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sybann
11/17/09

In reply to Newsweek Editor: Palin Cover Applied A "Gender-Neutral Standard"
She shows nearly that much knee and leg when she poses in a damn dress. I'm calling bishcrap. #sarahpalin
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Susan B.
11/17/09

@sybann: I think the issue is less the exposure and more the frivolity. #sarahpalin
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sybann
11/17/09

@Susan B.: Everything about the woman is frivolous. #sarahpalin
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dreamweave
11/17/09

In reply to Newsweek Editor: Palin Cover Applied A "Gender-Neutral Standard"
Can we get a Jon and Kate post up in this joint? I need a break from the Palin. #sarahpalin
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Anna
11/17/09

@dreamweave: Ha. Don't worry, it'll be over by the end of the week. #sarahpalin
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Susan B.
11/17/09

@dreamweave: Yeah, cuz we definitely don't hear enough about fucking Jon and Kate. I would MUCH rather read about politics. #sarahpalin
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dreamweave
11/17/09

@Anna: How very The Power of Positive Thinking of you. #sarahpalin
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dreamweave
11/17/09

@Susan B.: Er, I was making a funny. #sarahpalin
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Susan B.
11/17/09

@dreamweave: I know, but it struck a nerve because the Gosselins are actually THE thing I'm most sick of seeing on blogs.
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Edited by Susan B. at 11/17/09 3:51 PM Susan B. was starred Susan B. was unstarred

emfish55
11/17/09

In reply to Newsweek Editor: Palin Cover Applied A "Gender-Neutral Standard"
I think it's interesting that of all the many many ways you can take Sarah Palin down, so many men choose to do so using explicitly gendered terms.

She's uninformed, pompous, egotistical, lazy (hello quitter), fame seeking, etc. Everytime she opens her mouth, twitters, or posts a facebook update, she provides more ammunition for her haters.

But the fixation is so often: Beauty Queen! The hair! The heels! The lipstick! The clothes!

Talk about lazy quitters. They aren't even trying. #sarahpalin
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sybann
11/17/09

@emfish55: I'd heart you three more times for that. #sarahpalin
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ameliabearhart
11/17/09

@emfish55: I, too, dream of a world where people are insulted not by the content between their legs, but the content of their character. #sarahpalin
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juriko
11/17/09

@emfish55: The issue is more insidious than that though, because the commentators are trying to indirectly imply those other things simply by mocking the ones you mentioned. They are not simply ignoring them, they are using one as a representation of the other. #sarahpalin
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emfish55
11/17/09

@juriko: This is an excellent point, and more insightful than my comment. It's true. By using Sarah Palin's femininity as a proxy for her lack of intelligence, political savvy, and self-awareness, the criticism is implicating womanhood as her biggest problem. Which puts women in the uncomfortable (for me, anyway) position of defending Palin against criticism, when in fact Palin very much deserves criticism. Just not for being a woman. Sigh. #sarahpalin
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JinxyMcDeath
11/17/09

In reply to Newsweek Editor: Palin Cover Applied A "Gender-Neutral Standard"
Dude, they didn't photoshop her. This is a legitimate picture she posed for less than a year ago...and they likely put it on the cover since it's a pretty good illustration of how ridiculous she is! If GWB had similarly posed in same cheesy stupid way, trust they would have run that as well. He's a man, FYI. The picture is almost TOO easy. Why is it sexist? Because she's wearing shorts? #sarahpalin
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HannahBethD
11/17/09

@JinxyMcDeath: I'm recalling a flight suit aboard an aircraft carrier with a Mission Accomplished banner. #sarahpalin
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Susan B.
11/17/09

@JinxyMcDeath: I think the sexism has to do with the photo-text combo. It's calling her a problem, and showing that photo, which suggests that the photo is representative of why she is a problem--and she's in a highly feminine pose. Also, it's an example of what's called "facism"--photos of men tend to be of their faces, whereas photos of women tend to include their whole bodies. Which I suppose should be called "bodyism," but that doesn't rhyme with "racism" and rhymes are hard to resist. #sarahpalin
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yvanehtnioj
11/17/09

@JinxyMcDeath: @femme-bot: You don't think it matters that she took this picture for Runner's World magazine, not Newsweek? Posing in a running outfit in the Governor's office (yay, the governor is a runner too! Just like us) makes perfect sense in that context, but looks ridiculous on the cover of Newsweek. As they intended. #sarahpalin
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femme-bot
11/17/09

@yvanehtnioj: She looks ridiculous for a runners magazine as well. As a (errr....former) runner, I can guarantee you I've never seen anyone done up like that running. If I did? I'd laugh. #sarahpalin
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yvanehtnioj
11/17/09

@femme-bot: Well, sure, for an actual run she looks foolish. But for a runner's magazine? Do they not use makeup and whatnot? High-femme is kind of her thing, so it didn't even register for me that she was so cuted up to go for a run. I just figured even running magazines were sexified.

*Not a runner unless chased or late for the bus. #sarahpalin
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femme-bot
11/17/09

@yvanehtnioj: Yes, the covers are somewhat "sexified" but still really "realistic" to running.
If her picture looked like this, we wouldn't be having this conversation. #sarahpalin
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yvanehtnioj
11/17/09

In reply to Newsweek Editor: Palin Cover Applied A "Gender-Neutral Standard"
Meacham tells Politico's Michael Calderone, "We chose the most interesting image available to us to illustrate the theme of the cover, which is what we always try to do."

Yeah, but when the theme of your cover is "she's just an airhead sexy laydee, not a real politician", the standard isn't the problem. It's the message that's sexist. #sarahpalin
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tldr
11/17/09

@yvanehtnioj: Well said. I was having trouble articulating why I was still bothered by this. #sarahpalin
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yvanehtnioj
11/17/09

@tldr: I think that another aspect is what they find "interesting". It might be interesting to see John Kerry windsurfing because it's so unexpected, but the fact that she's wearing short-shorts is interesting to them for very particular reasons: 1) sex sells, and 2) she's seen as somehow discredited for having taken a picture showing leg. #sarahpalin
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lovelyivy
11/17/09

@yvanehtnioj: But she is no longer an actual politician. She gave up her elected office. She is now a celebrity, period. Maybe a political celebrity. #sarahpalin
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yvanehtnioj
11/17/09

@lovelyivy: She's consulted as a political figure. A talking head, more or less. Either way, the article is about her impact on politics, so it's disingenuous to pretend she's a Kardashian or something.

I disagree with almost everything the woman has ever said, but that doesn't mean that she should be held up as an object of ridicule for taking a picture wearing shorts. #sarahpalin
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AndPreciousLittleofThat
11/17/09

@yvanehtnioj: Maybe I'm missing the "sexy laydee" part, or at least I'm not reading that into the cover photo.

What it does demonstrate (for me, anyway) is the vast and growing gulf between the two wings of the Republican party. On the one hand you have true intellectual heft and the ability to recognize nuanced arguments and respond to them. On the other hand you have the flashy, substance-free wing, who lives on soundbites and catchphrases.

I do think that the cover is a particularly ham-handed way to illustrate that point, but I don't particularly see it as sexist. I do see it in line with the "Mission Accomplished" photos, which heavily favor style over substance.

How are you seeing this particularly as sexist? #sarahpalin
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lovelyivy
11/17/09

@yvanehtnioj: I have not read the article, so I will take your first point as said. However I really don't see this as making her an object of ridicule- she doesn't look inappropriate to me. Ridicule would have been to use the picture (oft seen on Wonkette) of Sarah Palin next to an ice castle, bundled up like an eskimo. This is out of context, but not shocking (IMO).

Then again, it could just be that I have lost the ability to buy into any aspect of her manufactured media outrage. Where would she be if the papers didn't give her something to be offended by? #sarahpalin
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yvanehtnioj
11/17/09

@AndPreciousLittleofThat: The short-shorts (out of context of a running magazine) is where I got the "sexy laydee" vibe. I mean, it's not too far off from what they make women who work at Hooters wear, and that's supposedly a sexy look.

I definitely agree that they're trying to make her look ridiculous, but I think that there are any number of pictures of her that make the same point without it being all about her legs, and her laughable inclination to bare them. Like this one, perhaps? #sarahpalin
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BeRy51
11/17/09

@yvanehtnioj: you said it so much better than i tried to upstream. That "interesting" is such a bullshit standard, isn't it? #sarahpalin
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lastsinglestanding
11/17/09

@yvanehtnioj: You know, I at first gave Newsweek the benefit of the doubt, but after getting the magazine today and reading the article, I think you're right.

The inclusion of the "legs" photo from the RNC and a picture of a Stripper Palin doll to "illustrate" their article doesn't help matters here.

Christopher Hitchens makes some good points in the cover story and while he takes a few literary pokes at her (lots of "flirting" "attractive" talk), he doesn't fall back on basically calling her a dumb girl, which is what the cover art seems to "illustrate." #sarahpalin
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linnyt is a walking cliché
11/17/09

@yvanehtnioj: they did last year #sarahpalin
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yvanehtnioj
11/17/09

@linnyt is a walking cliché: It really loses something without the flag, dontcha think? #sarahpalin
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