Sexist Cartoon Depiction of Hillary Clinton Published by McClatchy's Sacramento Bee [View all]

[boston bean]

The 2016 presidential campaign season is upon us all too soon, and editorial cartoonists across the nation are busily drawing caricatures of candidates. Designed to be instantly recognizable to the reader, these renditions usually emphasize a person's distinguishing physical features, such as ears, hairstyle or nose.

So it came as a shock to see likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton reduced to a headless pair of crossed legs and a campaign button in the May 1st edition of the Sacramento Bee, a McClatchy publication. Editorial board member and political cartoonist Jack Ohman's approach to drawing one of the most accomplished and inspiring female politicians of our time left us dumbstruck. It is a gratuitously insulting, sexist depiction.

In a public radio interview, Ohman stated he did not intend the cartoon to be sexist. He also claimed to have the full backing of his editors and publisher.

Maybe so, but it's still sexist. To render a portrayal of any woman as a pair of legs is gender stereotyping in its purest form, and it follows a centuries-old pattern of repression of women that seeks to relegate their position to one of inferiority to men in which their primary role is to bear children. All too often this treatment is applied to women who seek higher office. Ohman goes so far in his drawing as to give the reader a view up and under Clinton's skirt. (Ironically, if she is known for any particular distinguishing characteristic, it's that she wears pantsuits exclusively.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-frank/sexist-depiction-of-hilla_b_7337916.html