Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wardrobe woes for Palin
Palin and the McCain campaign have been receving a lot of criticism recently for Palin's wardrobe. We all know she looks good, but where does the money for her stylish wardrobe come from? The Republican National Convention of course. This NY Times article goes into detail about purchases to outfit Palin and her family. My interest is in how this influences her image and narrative. Palin is supposed to be the hockey mom - a woman other women and families can relate to across many levels and classes. "Party officials, who said they had discussed the matter with McCain and Palin advisers, said all concerned wanted Ms. Palin to present herself as a fashionable-but-sensible on-the-go working mother — a multilayered sartorial strategy, in other words, that has yielded an array of well-cut jackets and skirts, suitable for the different seasons and state climates", the article says. As a female, I am both proud and concerned with the image she is trying to create or the narrative her campaign is forming about her. Possibly more concerned. I think it's great that she is supposed to be the do it all woman, one who works and raises the kids, but this is a tough job to have. It is a common stuggle for women in today's working world: work of family. Many women feel they have to choose between settling down or advanicing in their career. Women are still discriminated against in the workforce. The fact that Palin is receiving extra attention and press because she is a women and being judged more on her appearance is also disconcerting. I am concerned that a male in this campaign would not be receiving the same criticism (in fact they haven't), and that wardrobe is rarely, if ever, part of a male candidate's narrative.
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I realize that men are rarely criticized over their wardrobe, but when you really step back and think about it, what do men have to wear in terms of business casual? A suit and tie, or suit pants and a dress shirt. Colors aren't hard - black, blue, gray even. And ties are easy to match - red, white, black. You would never see a man show up in a red suit. For a woman however, choices are more abundant. There is the pant-suit, the skirt suit, the skirt and blouse ensemble, the pants and blouse ensemble, high heels or flats, colors, dresses - all to choose from. And if a woman showed up in all black all the time, she would probably be seen as a little prudent because there are so many colors to choose from. So I think that what a woman chooses to wear does say a little more about her personality than what a man chooses to wear, based off of choice amount alone.
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