Women candidates and Hillary in particular are described in ways no white male would ever be, they are often criticized for the same traits that would be admired in a man. In fact John McCain exhibits many of the traits that Hillary was criticized for but is popular for them. Black candidates are portrayed by the opposition as “not ready, “ “too flashy,” presumptuous,’ indeed uppity. John McCain and the media stoke these fires, god forbid we will actually have a debate on the issues.

Alan,

I look forward to the three debates already scheduled. It is unfortunate that Republicans appear to get away with saying and doing anything they want with no negative impact on McCain's poll numbers and that they are so adept at managing the agenda of the discourse. Obama is always having to respond rather than initiate. Attacking Michelle and "innuendoing" about race while turning it around on Obama as playing the race card seems like a time-honored strategy which plays well with the press and the populace. The press, with some few exceptions, is more interested in playing up accusations and blame game political coverage than they are in informing the public about evasive strategies--and the nation be damned! The Republicans only have tosit back and smile, just like Al Pacino did in "The Devil's Advocate."

Karl Rove is in the house! Where is the antidote?

I would like to respectfully take issue with how Dr. Fischoff has dismissed Hollywood's current representations of female presidents. Yes, it is a shame that these have been few and short-lived. But, despite what Dr. Fischoff suggests, these representations may be powerful in helping to bust gender stereotypes precisely because they are not Hillary Clinton types.

Dr. Fischoff seems to think it problematic that anti-feminism was an obstacle in Joan Allen's character's VP campaign. Why would a female candidate represented in Hollywood be any less admirable just because she had to fight discrimination? Although Hillary Clinton (ostensibly, at least) avoided it, isn't it realistic to expect that gender discrimination would occur in most female candidacies, especially given the persistent stereotyping cited here? Also, I didn't see "Jane Austen's Mafia" (though I want to now!) but it may not be fair to dismiss it's presidential character just because the actress who played her also happened to play a "brainless sex-object." It seems that Dr. Fischoff is suggesting that a woman in a position of power should not be taken seriously if her image at all connotes sexiness. Why couldn't a female in a position of power also be sexy? Many women choose to wear their hair long and wear fashionable, feminine clothes, and yes, attempt to be sexy, so maybe it is a good thing for the majority of women that this is the female president Hollywood gives us.

Maybe one of the motivations behind Dr. Fischoff's experimental results is that people do not believe a woman can be a respected authority figure unless she relinquishes some of her feminity. Like Hillary Clinton (and other women in power -many Fortune 500 CEOs, for example), she must wear her hair short, wear boxy business suits, and not make an issue of feminism if she is to be at all respected. Manliness is still the ideal for authority, which is why participants may have just chosen the actual man for the job, rather than the woman who would then be expected to resemble a man.

Participants may not choose a female for Dr. Fischoff's experiments until women are respected in authority positions while still looking, acting, and reacting as women. Representations like those in "The Contender" and "Jane Austen's Mafia" should be embraced rather than dismissed.

Gillian,

Thank you for your very thoughtful and considered response to my blog. While it was not my intention to suggest that a woman candidate for president should be less feminine in order to compete in a traditional male arena like pinnicle politics (or even CEO politics), I think I can understand how you took that to be the case.

My contention was that stereotypes regarding women have a lot to do with not only how they look but how they think, feel and react. That's why I used both Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton. John McCain's wife and George W.'s wife, Laura, are generally the speak softly and don't cast a wide shadow types who have or perhaps would, in Mrs.McCain's case, work in "proper" First Lady areas like children, education, illness (non-politicized illnesses, of course), environmetal beautification, essentially not really political or controversial areas, and leave the real political issues to the men. It was not doing that or not appearing as though she would do that that is part of the whispering and attack at campaigns that McCain's people,the Rove acolytes, are commercing in. It was not doing that that landed Hillary in lots of trouble and given the prospect that she will not leave her brain at the door, may be used against Michelle.

Jackie Kennedy was admired because she was so classically, Patricianly attractive,had excellent taste and didn't seem to intrude into JFK's presidenial "stuff." I'm not sure that's what many Americans want today in their First Ladies, at least not progressive women. But neither do they want them to be unattractive. They don't want that in their male presidents either, from what the research shows. We're attracted to attractive people. No surprise,especially in a media-dominated society where close-ups and telegenic appeal are the order of the day.

My point about Christina Applegate was that she was not just portrayed as sexy in Married With Children, she was essentially an asparagus-IQed slut. And, again, research shows that firmly entrenched images that actors cultivate by the roles they play spills over into their real-life or other movie role perceptions. That's why it's hard for comedians to be taken seriously in dramatic parts...at least for a while, and hard for porno stars to make the transition into mainstream movies. In dramatic roles, Ernest Borgnine spent many years trying to fight off the afterimage of his role as Sgt. Fatso Judson, the stockade officer who beats Frank Sinatra's Angelo Maggio to a slow death in From Here to Eternity. It hurt his career and he admitted as much.

As for Joan Allen, my point is that she was pilloried by the sexual double standard that both men and women subscribe to, which is why it was so damaging to her in the film. People still buy into it. It's hard out there for a women.

I also need to re-emphasize that more well-rounded women portrayed as Presidents will go a long way toward breaking down some of the resistance to women as candidates for president since stereotypes die hard, even if people are embarrassed about them in their own thinking.