Media Matters – Gender stereotypes and discussions of Armani suits dominate media’s coverage of Speaker-elect Pelosi: “Gender stereotypes and discussions of Armani suits dominate media’s coverage of Speaker-elect Pelosi
Summary: Since the Democratic Party won control of both the House and the Senate, the media have focused on such issues as Pelosi’s choice of attire and whether being female will affect her ability to lead. MSNBC anchor Contessa Brewer wondered if Pelosi’s ‘personal feelings [were] getting in the way of effective leadership’ — a problem she suggested would not surface in ‘men-run leadership posts’ — and whether men were ‘more capable of taking personality clashes.’
Since the Democratic Party won control of both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections, in coverage purportedly about the leadership capabilities of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the incoming House speaker, the media have focused on such issues as Pelosi’s choice of attire and whether being female will affect her ability to lead.
On the November 18 edition of MSNBC Live, anchor Contessa Brewer wondered if Pelosi’s ‘personal feelings [were] getting in the way of effective leadership’ — a problem she suggested would not surface in ‘men-run leadership posts’ — and whether men were ‘more capable of taking personality clashes.’ Brewer then asked Republican strategist Brad Blakeman:
BREWER: Brad, do you see that there is a difference between the men-run leadership posts? I mean, are they more capable of taking personality clashes, setting them aside, and saying, ‘In order for me to get … from point A to point B, I’ve got to set aside my personal feelings towards this guy’?
Brewer questioned whether the ‘Democrats might revisit the issue’ of electing Pelosi speaker, because ‘there are two months left before”
::Tullycast:: 