The Cost of Being a Woman (Candidate)

It's time that somebody pointed out the real difference between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Why is Obama doing so much better than Hillary in fundraising? Why does Obama almost never look tired? Why do the ladies of The View tell him he's sexy and really mean it?

Obama has a huge built-in advantage: hair and skin, and neither has anything to do with race. His buzz-cut always looks the same; he surely never has to give it a moment's attention. No one except those closest to him would ever be able to tell when he gets a haircut, and, if he spends more than 10 dollars for it, he's being ripped off. (Had John Edwards had a buzz cut he might be the Democrats' nominee today.) Perhaps the ladies of The View could reveal if Obama wears makeup, but no one else could. (In fact, I've noted that on my old-fashioned TV -- the kind that I've been told will no longer work in February 2009 -- Obama's lips often look blue.)

When Obama awakes, he can jump in the shower -- we know from his wife that he smells bad in the morning -- and then he can get right on those fundraising or strategy calls. Like most men, he wears a uniform; a white shirt open at the neck -- never a button-down collar -- and a dark suit. The biggest decision is whether to wear a tie and, if so, what color?

And then there's Hillary, a woman who in the early years of courtship and marriage to Bill reportedly wanted to dispense with all grooming artifice. In my bookshelves of Hillary/Bill biographies there are stories galore -- meeting Bill's mother, a woman who applied makeup with a trowel and teased her hair into a huge construct, and who when she first saw the make-up free, mousy-haired, Coke-bottle bespectacled Hillary wondered if Bill was joking by bringing home such a plain girl; purchasing her wedding dress off the rack the day before the event; remaining oblivious to the entreaties of the secretaries at the Rose Law Firm, where she worked in Little Rock while Bill was governor, who ached to give the Yale Law School graduate a makeover; refusing to do anything about her eyebrows, then described as resembling a single caterpillar creeping across her forehead.

For a woman of 60 she looks, I think, just great. But it must be so time and money-consuming (and she still gets ridiculed; if she sticks to pant suits, who can blame her, given all the attention her ankles have attracted). She "has help," as she has publicly admitted. Susan Bear in the Washingtonian mentioned a Cristophe stylist who "goes to Clinton's house almost every day at the crack of dawn." Someone else presumably does the makeup. Does she have people traveling with her to keep her looks up on the road? Probably. Otherwise, as every woman knows, the first time she washed her hair it would not look the same. (Ditto for her face.)

And someone must be charged with putting together the outfits, the jewelry, the scarves, the shoes, and knowing how to "tailor" all the above to an audience -- different in all respects for a fundraiser in Manhattan or Marin County than for a high school gymnasium in Western Pennsylvania.

Perhaps Hillary could pay the small vendors who are beginning to be restive and to talk to the press, if she didn't have to spend so much on trying to look perfect. No candidate, but especially a woman, can afford to look homely or ordinary or even tired. If she dared it, that would be the topic of conversation among, not only the media, but the voters as well.

Comments

[Lisette]

So what is your point?

[za2008]

HuffPost's Pick

I've always found this point of view to be a little strange.

After all, is it usually women or men who notice that someone is wearing the same outfit to two different events? Is it usually women or men who are concerned about which earrings or necklace someone is wearing? Is it usually women or men who would even notice casually someone's ankles? Is it usually women or men who would critique someone's makeup and hair style? Is it usually women or men who are, themselves, pretty content with wearing the same outfit day-in and day-out (Of Note: the repeated appearance of McCain's awful blue and yellow tie; the sweater vest; etc.)

OK. So, if you answered these questions honestly, how is this indicative of sexist attitudes?

And, no, it isn't the fault of men because the appearance/popularity/celebrity cultural construct is not one that men have typically chosen to develop or enforce. Yes, men might be in charge of many of the corporations that promote superficial celebrity news but it's more often women who are providing the eyes and ears that have made it profitable.

[triplbee]

There's no doubt that Sen. Clinton's looked get critiqued in a way that would be unimaginable for a male candidate. And yes, she does look fantastic for her age, especially when you consider the stress and strain of her hectic schedule. Obama has the built in advantage of being a man who is not held to the same aesthetic standard. On top of that he is quite good looking and has a baritone voice. Alas, if this was the only or even the primary explanation for the fact that Clinton will not be the nominee, I would have more sympathy for her. Unfortunately for her, the problems in her campaign are more than skin deep.

[SamThornton]

Sen. Obama recently described the current state of the campaign as "the silly season." This article is another fascinating look at one aspect of that season.

[sky2evan]

Ms. Felsenthal,

You do realize that we're talking about the future President of the USA, right?

I don't feel one iota of sympathy for Ms. Clinton's makeup, appearance, or clothing requirements. You do, apparently.

4,000 Americans dead in Iraq, 100,000s of Iraqis also dead, and Ms. Clinton didn't apologize for her AUMF vote, but instead spun it into "inspectors & diplomacy" instead (insulting the other 22 Democrat Senators who voted against it). People died, but she didn't want to apologize. She didn't read the NIE reports, but somehow managed to find time to read Mr. Obama's kindergarden essays. She says she's ready at 3AM to answer red phone calls, but then she says she's so sleep-deprived that she misspoke about Bosnia.

And you want me to feel bad that she has to spend more time on her appearance?????? You want to guilt-manipulate Americans to think that by not supporting her for POTUS that they are sexist?

It's interesting that most of these "Support Clinton because she's a woman" articles, they rarely ever mention anything about the political issues, other than the Clinton is "qualified," "experienced", "I helped SCHIP" mantras that are not backed up by any facts.

Women and children are dying in Iraq, Clinton is lying about Bosnia, and you're writing about Clinton's make-up.

Men do not have a monopoly on stupidity.

[lilyflower8604]

For all this grooming, she still looks bad to me. I mean she looks good for a woman her age, but the bags under eyes and the tired look seems like she's overwhelmed. I've always wondered why she wasn't more stylish and plain like Jackie O.

[rgersmrk]

Ugh, the not the "Hillary is a victim" article. I don't see her having to halt her campaign to address the nation about her being a female. Personally, I think she looks better at 60 then when she was first lady.

[efranklin]

I argue that being a woman and having the freedom to wear any and all colors of the rainbow works in Hillary's favor. Think about it. Amidst the drab colors of newsprint, she can opt to jump out of the page with a red or yellow suit. Can't miss her! (Students of user-interface design know that color is "preattentive". Google on "preattentive processing" for more info on the subject.) Now what if Obama wore a yellow or red suit? My point exactly.

[BJMS]

I am SO tired of all these women complaining about Hillary's treatment and their claim that it is because she is a woman. MOST people's contempt for Hillary has nothing to do with her gender. She is a completely untrustworthy, pandering, lying, social-climbing, power-hungry, war-mongering narcissist who will say and do ANYTHING to win an election. I would feel exactly the same way about her if she looked like George Clooney!!!

[jules7212]

As a woman I like to dress like the men - professional, neat and clean. Sure it takes me longer to get ready but the truth is I have the advantage in the long run. I can make more of a statement in what I chose to wear than a man ever could - lol.

But at the end of the day it matters not. My makeup and hairstyle hides nothing. My true colors will always come through no matter how I look and the same goes for my male counterparts.

[BlueAsh]

There are several fallacies in this essay:

1. That women inevitably have to put more time into getting dressed in order to be presentable--not really always true nowadays. Just look at some of the "stars" on TV, or professors in classrooms, or doctors...

2. That men always look good with minimum grooming. Well, no amount of grooming could have made Dukakis look like winner (much less become one). Clothes are important, so are the person wearing them.

3. That Hillary gets ridiculed because of her pant-suits. Well, some people don't like her and, if they pick something to make fun of, why not the pant suits? Kerry got picked on because of the monotone in his speech; Gore got picked on as a stiff; W. Bush gets picked on as a dimwit. These ridicules, however unjustified (W's case aside), all begin with some semblance to reality. So the mockery on Hillary's pant suits reflects a much deeper disgust than simply clothing.

Would you rather have people pick on Hillary for those qualities?

[margi]

As a woman I do not identify myself with HRC, she is very self destructive. Even when she can use the trut to get ahead she finds a beautiful way to lie. I mean that Bosnia thing, did she really need it ? I don't think so. She is too arrogant and not grateful to those who support her, she has a way of destroying herself that is quite interesting. She is very bright , but she wants to be more than what she is . Being herself would have been enough, she did not need to use the "kitchen sink " tactic to hurt her fellow dem, When you decide to lie make sure there is no witness.
That Bosnia thing sealed her faith , even those who support her , are disappointed. Now she needs the right wing to help her, you see what I mean.

[kissmygrits]

I don't feel bad for Hillary having to groom herself. She's hardly broke, and we'd know what degree of multi-millionaire she really is when/if she releases her tax returns. I feel bad for the families of those who've died or been maimed in a war she authorized without even reading the National Intelligence Estimate. Boohoo - she has to use professionals to style herself. People have bigger problems thanks to her.

[standforpeace]

True, but this is a problem that every woman who doesn't wear a uniform to work has to deal with (and even those in uniform have to decide what to do with hair and makeup). Unfortunately for Hillary, navigating the sexism that all women face is not an automatic qualifier for president. And this woman is more interested in Hillary's votes to authorize Bush's war and her recent vote to categorize the entire Iranian army as a terrorist entity (which even she should be able to see could easily be used by Bush as a justification to attack that army).

[lynnn]

As a woman this piece really offends me. Where was your anger when Elizabeth Dole ran for president?

Do you really think I am that stupid? Do you really think I'm not voting for Hillary bc she is a woman? Come on we don't live in caves, maybe just maybe it is Hillary's policies, and the way she has ran her campaign and a host of other things?
Sigh, you think we don't know that in past years the primary schedule started later? When will this end if Obama had run the same campaign (and he was a woman) he still would be ahead. Although a female Obama would get labeled as the angry black woman, people are paying attention this year, I'm sorry if that bugs you.