Three female senators call NYT coverage of Sinema's clothes 'sexist'

[Jose Garcia]

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) on Friday criticized The New York Times for a string of pieces related to fellow Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's (D-Ariz.) clothing.

The three female senators pointed to four stories recently published by the Times — one style section piece published last month and three opinion section pieces in the past three weeks from one writer — saying they "cannot imagine The Times printing similar pieces on the fashion choices of any of our male colleagues."

"Senator Sinema is a serious, hardworking member of the Senate who contributes a great deal to the policy deliberations before us. Your repeated focus on how she dresses, rather than what she says and does, is demeaning, sexist and inappropriate," the senators wrote in a letter to the editor published Friday.

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Asked about the criticism from the senators, Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for The Times, said, "the aim of our Opinion coverage is to invite intelligent discussion from informed people with a diversity of opinions and ideas. We believe in open debate and always welcome reactions such as the Senators' letter to the editor."

more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/582400-three-female-senators-call-times-coverage-of-sinemas-clothes-sexist

[JohnSJ]

1. They are absolutely right, and the Times did the same thing to Hillary. One of many reasons

why I no longer subscribe to the anY Times, but instead the Washington Post

[Volaris]

28. Respectfully, I disagree. If a republican senator decided a random assed Tuesday

was now Casual Day at work, and wore denim to preside, we would CORRECTLY DRAG THAT ASSHOLE OVER HOT COALS for institutional disrespect ( and we wouldnt be wrong).

I'll be happy to have a debate about workplace dress codes. I actually dont think they should exist tbh...but as long as they DO,
SIinema is no more allowed to wear a denim jacket, than Jordan should be 'allowed' to NOT TO.

[JohnSJ]

35. You don't even have to be respectful about it, but thanks. I am pretty sure Congress doesn't have a

dress code. They may have "dress standards", I don't know.

I do believe there is a double standard though.

[Sneederbunk]

2. Were the stories written by men or women?

[Caliman73]

7. I don't think it really matters.

Women often uphold the disparities created by a sexist society just as well as men do. It isn't even particular stories that are the problem. It is the pattern and focus of the reporting.

Men are reported on for their acts within Congress. Their attitudes, words, etc... Women are focused on for their looks and their clothing.

[Sneederbunk]

8. Women being sexist is news in it's own right.

[Sneederbunk]

9. Three of the pieces were written by an African-American woman.

[Caliman73]

10. Why?

Women living in a society that is driven in good measure, by sexism, are going to be affected by sexism.

Have you ever looked at the Doll Test studies? (This is about racism, but could well be applied to other ubiquitous attitudes like sexism). They started in the 1940's and have been repeated decade after decade.

Children are shown a Black/Brown doll, and a White doll. They are asked, "Which is the ugly doll? Which is the pretty/handsome doll? Which is the bad/naughty doll? Which is the good doll?

Decade after decade, the majority of the Black/Brown children asked will say that the doll that looks like them is "Ugly" and "Bad" and will point to the White doll when asked which is "pretty" and "good".

A Black person being bigoted against their own self image, that is news in its own right, no? No, that is what happens when you are inundated with media and societal messages about who you are and what you are worth. Women are no different. They get hundreds and hundreds of thousands of messages by the time they are old enough to recognize, about their looks, their fashion, and what are supposed to be "feminine" traits.

[Caliman73]

3. I agree to a large extent.

There is definitely a disparity on the focus that is put on women's clothing as opposed to men's clothing.
I, however ABSOLUTELY LOVED what Tik Tok and Twitter did on the "Denim Vest"

"I want the people in Congress to think is she or is she not, about to ride a mechanical bull" That still has me laughing.

[Steelrolled]

4. The NYT is a private company that can write whatever they want.

Sure there is bias, but I don't think they care, nor do they need to. As long as they can sell subscriptions and get people to click on ads, they might as well keep doing what they are doing.

[Mr.Bill]

5. If they want to criticize someone's style of clothing,

they need to look no further than Steve Bannon.

[JohnSJ]

36. Just his lack of cleanliness and shaving would be a first

[Polybius]

6. So at what point is it ok to talk about one's clothes?

If Mitch McConnell wore biker shorts to work, could we mention it? What if AOC wore a bikini to Congress? I can't comment because I'm a male?

[Drunken Irishman]

15. Lots of people mocked Trump for his ill-fitting suits and long ties.

That doesn't even get into the hair or his weight. So, you've got a point.

[tenderfoot]

11. I'm glad that Susan Collins is very concerned about her faux-gressive friend

eom

[KentuckyWoman]

12. I don't think it matters if she has terrible fashion sense.

And she does have terrible fashion sense... but then so do a lot of people me included. I'd much prefer that if they are going to attack her at all, stick to what she does, says and stands for. There is certainly plenty of that.

[malaise]

13. The male colleagues are required to wear suits

That denim shit she wore while conducting proceedings deserved criticism. No male would have got away with that.

[Vinca]

14. Agreed. And the cheerleader outfit she wore when making the dramatic "no" vote that one

time was embarrassing. I call out men who dress badly and I feel justified noting Sinema doesn't "dress for success" many times.

[malaise]

16. Same here

Gym Jordan cannot go jacketless in the House Chamber - sure he does wear that light blue shirt with the yellow tie in Committee hearings, but notice that he obeys the dress code on the floor. Same rules apply to her. I am not defending anyone because of gender. Dress appropriately or face criticism.

[Demsrule86]

19. As far as I know She has not broken any rules.

[PatSeg]

24. I agree

The way she often dresses on the senate floor deserves criticism. It shows a lack of respect for the senate and the office she holds. If any man were to dress outrageously or disrespectfully, he would be written about as well. This has nothing to do with Sinema being a woman. Certain occupations have expectations about behavior and apparel.

[hamsterjill]

26. Totally agree.

It’s not sexist to expect a Senator to dress appropriately for the office they campaigned for and now hold.

[Demsrule86]

18. I agree. Women are always the target of such things. The only man I can recall being criticized is

Jim Jordan for his short sleeves and generally sloppiness.

[Sympthsical]

20. I'm iffy on this. She seems to welcome comment in a way others don't.

She seems to revel in attention (remember the "fuck off" ring?). She styles herself as something of a fashionista. It seems to me half the point is to look at the clothes.

She's a senator in a professional body that generally adheres to professional standards. If Josh Hawley showed up in a track suit, I'm sure we'd all have words.

So, eh.

[malaise]

22. Correct n/t

[PatSeg]

27. Yes, this is about her unprofessional appearance

not the fact that she is a woman. I criticize Jim Jordan every time I see him without his jacket on the House floor.

[Tribetime]

21. I've got to admit I have a problem with that denim vest presiding over the Senate

Also I got a problem with Steve Bannon slab clothing..... and don't even get me started on that tan suit Obama wore

[Silent3]

23. Focusing on women's clothes can definitely be sexist, but in this case...

...is it much different that commenting on jacket-less Jim Jordan, Bannon's two shirts, or Trump's ridiculously long ties?

[Tomconroy]

25. I read one of those articles. It seemed to be criticizing her

Because she didn't use a professional design coordinator. It was one strange article.

[Hekate]

29. Cheers for them! While I have criticized her style choices myself, I heartily reject major media...

… deciding to go on a crusade against a female politician’s clothing. Have they singled out Jacket-Off Jordan similarly and frequently? No? Then the NYT’s own choices smack of misogyny.

[GoodRaisin]

30. It is.

Not even debatable.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

31. The author, Tressie McMillan Cottom, went way deeper than these senators are giving her credit for.

[maxsolomon]

32. Sinema uses fashion deliberately and consciously.

Pelosi does the same, as did Hillary, but they have better taste. Not to mention Melanoma's questionable choices.

It is OK to talk about women's fashion - it is a constant topic of discussion among the women in my household. The NYT isn't saying "she should show more leg" or "that top shows too much cleavage".

I do believe all the NYT articles are written by women.

I'm becoming DU's resident NYT apologist...

[Autumn]

33. If they had no compalints about Gosar's video about AOC... they can fuck off.

Hardworking member my ass. She won't even talk to the people who elected her.

[tblue37]

34. I still love Hillary's pantsuits. She took the standard jacket and pants uniform

worn by professional men and turned it into a feminine celebration of color and individuality.

I miss her vibrant pantsuits.