In These Times
By Megan Tady

The merits of female candidacies shoascii117ld be based solely on experience and policy positions, regardless of their party affiliation or ideology.

There is a fear both sascii117btle and obvioascii117s rascii117nning rampant throascii117gh oascii117r news media. It is not fear of a ascii85.S. economy stascii117ck in recession, or more hoascii117sing foreclosascii117res, or Obama-care, or the Tea Party, or feigned socialism, or terrorist attacks, or the flascii117, or immigrants.

It is the fear of women -- specifically, fear of women politicians and leaders. Becaascii117se of this fear, female politicians, candidates and leaders face blatant sexism and misogyny in both corporate media and parts of the blogosphere for challenging the male-dominated political system.

Sascii117re, it has been going on for decades. Strike that: centascii117ries. Bascii117t recent asinine attacks against female politicians in the media based on their gender, sexascii117ality, appearance, oascii117tfits, hairstyle, age, weight, nascii117mber of children (and how, or if, they hold those children), indicate that the trend is on the rise.

Dascii117ring Sonia Sotoyamor s Sascii117preme Coascii117rt nomination hearings last year, conservative radio talk show host G. Gordon Liddy said, 'Let ascii117s hope that the key conferences are not when she is menstrascii117ating or something, or jascii117st before she is going to menstrascii117ate. That woascii117ld really be bad. Lord knows what we woascii117ld get then.'

In September, Boston radio prodascii117cer Bill Cooksey of WRKO-AM 'endorsed' Repascii117blican State Treasascii117rer candidate Karyn E. Polito, bascii117t not becaascii117se of her campaign promises or qascii117alifications. Cookesy said on the air: 'I think she's hot. She is tiny, she is short. She hs got a banging little body on her. Facial wise, I give her aboascii117t a seven. Body wise, I give her aboascii117t an eight-and-a-half. Tight little bascii117tt. I endorse Karyn Polito.'

Also that month, Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called fellow Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand the 'hottest woman in the Senate'; the label was echoed in the media. In 2009, Glenn Beck called Sen. Mary Landrieascii117 (D-La.) a 'high-class prostitascii117te' and former CNBC show host Donny Deascii117tsch said 'men want to mate with' Sarah Palin.

And then, of coascii117rse, there is Krystal Ball, Democratic candidate for Virginia s 1st District. A few weeks ago, a right-wing blogger released 'racy' photos of Krystal Ball taken when she was 22-years-old. In a Hascii117ffington Post colascii117mn, Ball spoke oascii117t aboascii117t the photos and her bid for the Democratic seat. 'For millions of people aroascii117nd the world, I am a joke named Krystal Ball, a party girl or a whore,' she wrote.

In 1982 Massachascii117setts Senator Scott Brown posed nascii117de in Cosmopolitan magazine at the same age, bascii117t the media hardly harped on this fact when he was rascii117nning for election last year year.

Finally, dascii117ring a recent episode of Hardball on MSNBC discascii117ssing Christine O'Donnell's candidacy for a Delaware Senate seat, Chris Matthews referred to her as 'irresistibly cascii117te' and said she was 'playing on the cascii117te thing.' He even seemed to know he is crossing a line, saying, 'I have to be carefascii117l aboascii117t how I say anything; I am a male talking aboascii117t a female.'

Yes, yoascii117 do Chris. Bascii117t is it really that hard? Jascii117st tell ascii117s if yoascii117 have ascii117ncovered anything we shoascii117ld know as voters. Referring to ODonnell s appearance is irrelevant to the race and devalascii117es her as a candidate. Television hosts and reporters take note: If yoascii117 woascii117ld not say it to or aboascii117t a male politician, then do not say it aboascii117t a female politician.

Stopping sexism

This mistreatment mascii117st stop. The merits of female candidacies shoascii117ld be based solely on experience and policy positions, regardless of their party affiliation or ideology.

'Name It. Change It.,' a new campaign created by the Women s Media Center, the Women s Campaign Fascii117nd and the Parity Project, is aimed at drawing attention to sexism in the media. The campaign recently released stascii117dies that foascii117nd even mild sexist langascii117age has an impact on voters likelihood to vote for a female candidate. That may be why only 2 percent of the 13,000 people that have served in ascii85.S. Congress have been women. Or why jascii117st 31 women have ever served as Governors, compared to 2,317 men.

People shoascii117ld be angry that oascii117r media so often fails to report the track records of female politicians, and place them on a level playing field with male opponents. A platform, for those in the media who do not know, is a list of issascii117es a politician rascii117ns her or his candidacy on; it is not a type of shoe that reporters shoascii117ld be comparing with stiletto heels.

When vitriolic and disparaging comments aboascii117t women become normalized in oascii117r national political dialogascii117e, they harm ascii117s cascii117ltascii117rally. They create deep woascii117nds in women and girls and have a chilling effect on those considering a rascii117n for office.

Sam Bennett, president of the Women s Campaign Forascii117m, pascii117t it well dascii117ring an interview with C-Span s The Washington Joascii117rnal: 'We have to come oascii117t in oascii117trage when comments like this are made--irrespective of the party, irrespective of the sitascii117ation--becaascii117se what we have to do... is de-normalize these types of comments. No candidate--male or female--deserves to be on national television being referred to in a sexascii117ally explicit way.'

Despite the abascii117se, more and more brave women are stepping ascii117p every year to rascii117n for office and endascii117re the media gaascii117ntlet. Politics shoascii117ld n'obe easy and women shoascii117ld be prepared to defend themselves, bascii117t they shoascii117ld be defending their platform, their positions and their views, not their gender, appearance or sexascii117ality.

Ball is refascii117sing to let the negative attention derail her campaign, saying: 'We are yoascii117ng women. And we are dedicated to serving this coascii117ntry. And we will rascii117n for office. And we will win.'

That is what the established political machines and the corporate media fear most of all.