Is Making a Deal Out of $150,000 in Clothes Sexist?
I feel fairly uncomfortable with the stories on Palin's clothes. Societal norms require her to look flawless and to wear something new each day. The campaign has to make an investment in that to present her in a certain way. It wasn't like they bought Harry Winston jewels. It was lots and lots and lots of high-end clothes. Nothing wrong with that. And this was the stupidest thing I saw on all this -- a quote from the head of the Michigan Republican party: "I don't even know how you would spend $150,000 on clothes. You can get a pretty darn good men's suit for $300 to $500." Well, I doubt that either Obama or McCain is getting their suits for $500 or less. And they certainly don't need a new one for each day (or probably more than one each day). It's a completely oblivious comment that reflects an overt sexism that seems to blame Palin for being clothes-hungry, when the public and press essentially demand that she look impeccable. The wow factor about the price of the clothes should be that that's what it costs these days to outfit a candidate for two months, not that she went overboard. It was an investment in presentation and marketing, not a girl-gone-wild shopping spree.
Relatedly, I find this current commercial for the Chevy Traverse to also be sexist:
It basically says that women are so in love with shoes that they run out of their cars like crazy banshees, and would just scoop a whole bunch into their trunk, without regard to getting a matching pair or looking for the right size. I mean, really, what good will 117 shoes of different colors and sizes do? Oh, but you just KNOW it would be a dream come true for the ladies. And then there's that douche eating a hot dog who just shakes his head in humorous disbelief: "Oh, those ladies just LOVE their shoes -- they'll stop in the middle of the road without even putting on their hazard lights." There's no tongue-in-cheek reveal at the end to present this as joke-sexism. It's just out-and-out sexism.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
Relatedly, I find this current commercial for the Chevy Traverse to also be sexist:
It basically says that women are so in love with shoes that they run out of their cars like crazy banshees, and would just scoop a whole bunch into their trunk, without regard to getting a matching pair or looking for the right size. I mean, really, what good will 117 shoes of different colors and sizes do? Oh, but you just KNOW it would be a dream come true for the ladies. And then there's that douche eating a hot dog who just shakes his head in humorous disbelief: "Oh, those ladies just LOVE their shoes -- they'll stop in the middle of the road without even putting on their hazard lights." There's no tongue-in-cheek reveal at the end to present this as joke-sexism. It's just out-and-out sexism.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
posted by Messiah at
10:35:00 PM
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