I just sat down at solon's computer, and this Washington Post op-ed by Michael Kinsley was on the screen. He's napping now because Sweet Baby J kept each of us, in turn, up for a great part of the night. Which means that I can't ask him if he's planning on posting about this, but I'm dying to do it myself, so consider me a thief.
The piece is about the time it takes Hillary Clinton to get ready each morning on the campaign trail, versus the time it might take "Barack Obama or even John McCain with his war injuries to shower, shave and put on one of a dozen identical dark blue suits, a white shirt and a red tie." Most conservative guess: 40 minutes for her, 20 for the boys. And let's be honest, 40 minutes is probably a bit speedy, so Kinsley ups it to about an hour, three times more than the men. Which, as Kinsley notes, means that "every day the male candidates can sleep an extra precious half hour or more -- or spend the time cramming for the day -- simply because our culture doesn't impose the same rules on them about their appearance."
Now, as faithful Situationers will duly note, I have not been quick to call sexism when it comes to Senator Clinton. In fact, my own personal brand of feminism forces me to call into question any playing of the gender card that I think is not warranted. But this, dear readers, is a fact: it sucks that Clinton gets less than even the four-hour average night of sleep just because she has to get lipstick and a blowdry every morning. Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty girly girl. My purse holds roughly fifteen different lip glosses and I will search for ten minutes to find just the one I NEED to wear. But I'm not under the pressure to campaign and, while my daughter is as impatient as any toddler, she's not the press core.
I'm not saying that the makeup and hair thing is hindering Clinton's ability to win, but man it sucks: "And Hillary Clinton, even if she loses, has established beyond all doubt that a woman can be a credible candidate for president. But she'll have to be one who needs even less sleep than her opponent."
3 comments:
In addition to the whole makeup/hair thing, she also has to make sure she wears an outfit that makes her looks slim and professional, yet still feminine. Otherwise, the size of her ass becomes a topic of conversation--as it was for most of the time that she was first lady. No, Clinton is not a fashionista. But I'd rather have a smart woman in a less-than-stylish pantsuit than a prom queen anyway (no offense, Prom Queens).
Does anyone every talk about how skinny and dorky Obama is? Don't get me wrong--I like skinny, dorky guys--but,seriously? I know that the comedians (esp. Jon Stewart and Bill Maher) love to rag on how old John McCain is--Maher being especially brutal. Of course, Maher has made his preference for Obama quite clear, so he's apparently less inclined to make fun of him.
Obama attempts to counter the skinny-dorky look with glimpses of his athleticism- stories and pictures about him playing basketball. He also employs the self-deprecating humor, "no one would thought this skinny kid with a funny name..."
But, his ears always get me to chuckle a bit, especially the cover of Time a few weeks back when the photo was a silhouette of him.
It's childish, but...
Given the fact that they all probably have hair and make-up people on staff, I bet it takes every single one of them much longer than estimated to get ready. In this day and age, I'd be incredibly surprised if they all weren't consulting stylists and image people on a regular basis. That said, it totally sucks that it takes longer for Hillary Clinton to get ready than it does for the men, but can you imagine the ridicule she'd face if she just rolled out of bed and grabbed whatever out of the closet? I mean, heaven forbid she let her ideas do the talking for her. . .
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