Senator Clinton’s Cleavage

From the Washington Post:

Hillary Clinton’s Tentative Dip Into New Neckline Territory

By Robin Givhan

There was cleavage on display Wednesday afternoon on C-SPAN2. It belonged to Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The full article is here.  

What do you all think about this article?   It is very interesting in light of our discussion of what women should wear last winter.

I need to think about it more, but my initial reaction is this.   They wouldn’t say this about a man.   Looks, dress, appearance, sexiness is not an issue we focus on for male politicians.   It is just like the discussion early on about Hilary’s hair and “fat legs.”   It is a way to trivialize and refocus the discussion from her merits to her appearance.   This always happens to women.

Second, the tone of the article has sort of a positive spin: that she is showing a sexier more “feminine” side, which is a backhanded insult to her traditional style.   Moreover, it seems to suggest that she really isn’t or hasn’t been a real “woman,” which may be intended (or not) to fight the fear that she will get all the female votes as the first serious female presidential candidate.  

AND the suggestion that to be ok women need to be “feminine” and “socially approvable” (which in our society tends to be sexually available and young/stupid/naive).

No wonder professional women all over the country are thinking they need to be sexier, show cleavage, wear short skirts, etc.   The flaw is that this will backfire every time.   So we are insuring female failure.

Am I wrong?

-Cheryl Preston

(Cross-posted with permission of Professor Preston  from the AALS Women in Legal Education listserv – Eds.)