# Is this Newsweek cover of Palin sexist? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 17, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941 "2009-11-17T18:59:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/441 "2009-11-20T22:39:39Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > There’s a reason that we’re having this discussion about Palin and not Hillary Clinton or Condoleeza Rice. So we can talk about her flirting and being sexy instead of [wearing pantsuits](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11364169&postcount=40) and [trying to talk tough like a man](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11367788&postcount=48)? (This is quoted from that link, not the current thread) > [@Why do people hate Hillary Clinton?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-hillary-clinton/503688/48): > > Aside from her left-wing politics, I can’t stand her for the following reasons: > > - When she speaks, she talks down to people. > - She seems angry all the time. She tries to pretend she is not angry, but her anger still comes out. > - She tries to talk like a man… all “tough” and stuff. > - She seems fake and insincere. > - She seems very power-hungry. > [@Why do people hate Hillary Clinton?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-hate-hillary-clinton/503688/49): > > So basically, it’s all stuff that you imagine you see. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/442 "2009-11-20T22:42:10Z")
Folks are confusing Palin and sex with sex and POLITICS. Anyone that’s spent ANY time around a capitol building will know there’s no shortage of flirting, and lobbying, and Monica Lewinski-ing, and The Good Wife-ing going on. To suddenly call it off limits because it’s Palin is to refuse to pull off the blinders and look at the political process in general. Here: Palin is playing up her looks for power. Men don’t do it because men DO IT DIFFERENTLY. Powerful man: Business suit and expensive car Powerful woman: Cleavage and an expensive car. Different sexes, different toolsets. Calling it out doesn’t make a person misogynist, it makes them OBSERVANT. Does Palin have anything useful to say? I haven’t heard it yet. I HAVE heard about a person leaving their husband and their elected position to earn money on the talk circuit. I don’t care WHAT she looks like in a swimsuit, I won’t vote for her based on her other actions. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/443 "2009-11-20T22:42:30Z")
No, it’s stuff that I KNOW I see. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/444 "2009-11-20T22:42:50Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > Other posters have already pointed out her flirtatious affectations in inappropriate venues (the debates), but this can pretty much be expanded to all of her public appearances. Yeah, she’s _winked_. Which is something many politicians do, including Bush whom I consider her male counterpart. What other affectations are there? Someone said she shimmied her shoulders when saying “drill baby drill”. Anyone got any footage of that? No? I need to see that with my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/445 "2009-11-20T22:49:02Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > Powerful woman: Cleavage and an expensive car. When does Palin show cleavage? She is always wearing the same dang red double-breasted blazer. The imaginations here are running so rampant, it’s actually kind of funny. In a disappointing kind of way. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/446 "2009-11-20T23:04:54Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > I am still trying to figure out where this leaves other female politcians of varying IQs, skill sets and attractiveness. How will they know when they are being too attractive? How will they know when they are being too dowdy? What if they see a colleague, male or female, who is generally considered attractive – should they warn them to tone it down, maybe get a facial tattoo? Which non-pornographic magazines should they and should they not be in? What if they are in Pulp & Paper Monthly in a muumuu but also giving ‘that look’ to the photographer and you’re desperate for a wank and you see the word ‘ream’ and it just… happens? Are they still using their feminine wiles to get what they want? Inquiring minds need to know. I’m becoming confused now. On the one hand, women are so strong, independent and self-sufficient that it is offensive for a man to even hold the door open for a woman. On the other hand, we have this from **Cat Fight** , which sounds like “I doo declayare! I swear I just have no idea how to negotiate the difficult expectations that those horrible men have set up for us poor women! They are just so confusing to my little brain. Let me just rest for a bit.” It’s too bad there are no role models for how a female politician might act and dress in order to be taken seriously. Actually, as a rule of thumb, [do this](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lawyersusaonline.com/dcdicta/files/2009/05/granholm.jpg&imgrefurl=http://lawyersusaonline.com/dcdicta/2009/05/01/granholm-i-intend-to-serve-out-the-rest-of-my-term/&usg=__keah9IcE2oGeTynEGKka_n1yhj4=&h=336&w=387&sz=104&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=LDh0gieswFS-QM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgranholm%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff) [don’t do this](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://theopinionmill.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/katherine-harris.jpg&imgrefurl=http://theopinionmill.wordpress.com/2008/05/10/ring-a-ding-replay/&usg=__0lfUw2m-Wanl-FCao-xQK7VWSTc=&h=697&w=500&sz=40&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=c3Pd-VsOSb29OM:&tbnh=139&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkatherine%2Bharris%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26um%3D1) Under “do this,” see also Debbie Stabenow, Kay Bailey Huchison, Christine Todd Whitman, Susan Collins, Tammy Duckworth, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Olympia Snowe… ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/447 "2009-11-20T23:07:11Z")
Once I saw her make a gesture where she rocked her hand back and forth toward her mouth while poking her cheek with her tongue, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what she meant by it. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/448 "2009-11-20T23:16:33Z")
I’d still like the question answered why it was “flirting” when Palin winked during the debate and not when Bush did. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/449 "2009-11-20T23:17:49Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > I’m becoming confused now. On the one hand, women are so strong, independent and self-sufficient that it is offensive for a man to even hold the door open for a woman. > > On the other hand, we have this from **Cat Fight** , which sounds like “I doo declayare! I swear I just have no idea how to negotiate the difficult expectations that those horrible men have set up for us poor women! They are just so confusing to my little brain. Let me just rest for a bit.” Well, you’re acknowledging that women are often made to fit into one of only two roles offered to them. That’s a start. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/450 "2009-11-20T23:37:44Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > Well, you’re acknowledging that women are often made to fit into one of only two roles offered to them. That’s a start. Which two did I so acknowledge? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/451 "2009-11-20T23:40:42Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > She fucking winked at us. Who winks during a debate? She winked at _us_. Exactly. Not “18-35 year old males”, but everyone watching the debate (which frankly probably excludes the majority of 18-35 year old males). ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/452 "2009-11-21T01:24:11Z")
For those of you who are all, “How do you define flirting/being sexy? What’s sexy about a wink?” do you acknowledge that it can go the other way, too? I’ve read countless examples of women saying they felt violated or sexually harassed because of a guy even though what he said was innocuous but the way he looked at her or his tone of voice was kind of lecherous. Is it so hard to believe Sarah Palin’s a dumb bimbo who’s trying to raise votes by raising dicks? ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/453 "2009-11-21T01:33:43Z")
Nope. Not possible. Not in THIS conversation. Because one side states she’s using her assets and the other is burning it’s bras. 😉 This is a conversation that won’t be met in the middle. IMHO, anyone that leaves their husband and elected position to pursue book and speaking deals wouldn’t get my vote no matter HOW they flirted. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/454 "2009-11-21T02:56:37Z")
> [@Sinaijon](#): > > Exactly. It was an interview, not necessarily self promotion. Don’t you understand the difference? Have you ever arranged such an interview? I have, and for people by orders of magnitude less important than Caribou Barbie, I ALWAYS knew going into the interview what the topic was, where the article was going to run, (i.e what column), and the general thrust of the questions - if not having the actual questions in hand. If I don’t like the positioning, the interview is not going to happen. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/455 "2009-11-21T03:02:26Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Once I saw her make a gesture where she rocked her hand back and forth toward her mouth while poking her cheek with her tongue, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what she meant by it. Huh? You’re joking right? Someone running for national office did that? In relation to who? ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/456 "2009-11-21T03:29:52Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > But the image also looks sexist because it conveys that Palin is not to be taken seriously because she’s poses in running shorts and therefore is a bimbo. That’s one way of looking at it, what many others believe however is that Because Palin is not (cannot be) taken seriously she is reduced to trying to get publicity by posing in bimbo poses. You say - (we think that) she looks hot so is not to be taken seriously I say - as a substitute for being taken seriously she tries to look hot ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/457 "2009-11-21T10:57:01Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Beeeecauuuuuse gay men are somehow exempt from being sexist? How’s that supposed to work? Ugh, no. You compared a gay man to a rapist of women. It’s funny. Because you’re _stupid_. > [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > It’s not “any time someone even makes a hint at an undesirable situation being partially the fault of the woman.” It’s any time someone says that when a woman chooses to sexualize her image, it means that she gives up all control as to who else gets to sexualize it. Then argue that point, instead of calling people rapists. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/458 "2009-11-21T13:55:02Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > If the picture is not at all sexual, then how can it be inappropriate or sexist to use it? How obtuse are you? If Minnesota Weekly only used pictures of women in burqas on their covers while choosing regular pictures of men in the news, that wouldn’t be sexist because it isn’t sexual? Do you even think about these things before you type them? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/459 "2009-11-21T15:49:58Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > How obtuse are you? If Minnesota Weekly only used pictures of women in burqas on their covers while choosing regular pictures of men in the news, that wouldn’t be sexist because it isn’t sexual? Do you even think about these things before you type them? Yes, but in this case, if the picture is appropriate, how is it wrong of Newsweek to use it? I mean, either it’s too sexy and it’s an inappropriate photo. Or the photo is fine and it’s wrong of us to look at an attractive woman and say she’s being too sexy. Which is it? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941/460 "2009-11-21T16:09:07Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > Well, you’re acknowledging that women are often made to fit into one of only two roles offered to them. That’s a start. Again, I ask you **Cat Fight** , what are these two roles that women are forced to choose between that you feel I have somehow acknowledged? I linked to a picture of Katherine Harris that she used during her campaign of her sitting on a horse with a tight t-shirt on thrusting her breasts out - a picture and a strategy that she was roundly criticized for at the time. This was my example of “don’t do this.” I also linked to a picture of Jennifer Granholm wearing typical business attire for a woman, and also suggested an array of other women, including Kay Bailey Huchison and Tammy Duckworth as models that women might choose to emulate for “do this.” I’m at a loss as to what the two choices women are forced into could be that would include Tammy Duckworth, a Major in the National Guard who lost both legs in combat while piloting a Black Hawk helicopter. My point is that, although you think men have set up such a confusing maze of expectations that women may be so cognitively challenged that they cannot figure out how to negotiate it, there seem to be plenty of examples that women could emulate to figure it out. I would argue, in fact, that in terms of female politicians, very few end up posing for pictures that are remotely questionable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-cover-of-palin-sexist/517941.md?page=24)