Day 4 and 5
art with commentary
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| Hillary sported wing-tipped glasses & made pant suits jokes at ceremony for Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Michael Hammer. |
Yesterday, on what would've been Day 4 of this art campaign, I opted out of art making in order to follow a spark of curiosity regarding a writing project. One thing lead to another with said writing project--a story that includes a smidge of politics--and I ended up recalling memories of my own Student Council days, which began in fifth grade. Eons ago. When I was silly and loud but smart and organized. When I saw student government as fun. I mean, representing my classmates ideas, organizing fund raisers, and running the school store? All fun things, right?
Now lots of folks might say government, at any and all levels, requires a serious attitude, and it's true that the older I got, the more serious StuCo meetings became. But the councils were made of people and people have senses of humor. Well, most. And life, it turns out, is pretty difficult to navigate without laughter, so it shouldn't be a surprise when it shows up in places we'd least expect it. Like political campaigns. But here's the rub...
If we pay attention to how men and women in government are portrayed when making jokes or laughing, we find men getting away with more chuckling, humor, and sarcasm than women. If you don't believe it, compare google image searches of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, or Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton with the descriptor "laughing." On average, it takes 15 photos of any of these men until we see a photo where they look angry, maniacal, or ridiculous. It took only 3 photos until one like this appears of Hillary. If we question where the caricature of Hillary as unfunny, unfriendly, or inappropriate came from, I'd say it's grounded less in truth and more in perspective.
But the bottom line is this: if we want little girls and young women to see public office as gender equal at all levels, we have to allow female politicians to have their unique brands of humor. Sharp, witty, silly, or dry. Smart, goofy, loud, or mild. Let all of it be welcome. Because in the end, girls just want to have fun--damental rights when it comes to humor.