Molly Ball, The Atlantic – October 8, 2016
And isn’t it fitting? On the one hand, it might be a rich irony that America’s first woman to head a major-party ticket finds herself running against the cartoon of masculinity, the parody of machismo, that is Trump. On the other hand, it might not be a coincidence at all.
Cleve R. Wootson, Jr., Washington Post – October 5, 2016
Dareld Morris frequently doles out medical advice on his practice’s Facebook page, trying to drum up business for his weight-loss clinic. “Did you know that eating when you are anxious or upset can cause digestive problems?” the Florida doctor asks in one post. Another posits that “brain fog” may point to a hormone imbalance. His latest advice has a political twist. In a radio ad airing in South Florida, Morris says the persistent urge to vote for Hillary Clinton may be a sign of a troubling lack of testosterone, the steroid hormone that regulates masculine traits.
Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR – October 1, 2016
It’s true that Trump isn’t unique in branding himself as manly; many past candidates have touted their guyness as a positive trait. However, Trump has created his own uniquely aggressive, tough-guy image on the trail, and he is wielding it in an unsubtle, uncoded manner unlike anything seen in recent elections.
Charlotte Alter, TIME – September 27, 2016
Monday night’s presidential debate was always going to be a battle of the sexes — the political version of the epic 1973 tennis showdown between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. The first female presidential nominee was debating a candidate who has called women “dogs” and “slobs,” who bragged about his testosterone score on Dr. Oz and talked about his private parts at a Republican primary debate.
Susan Chira, New York Times – September 24, 2016
When you’re scared, do you feel safer with Mommy or with Daddy? That, at heart, is the visceral question voters must address as they consider whether Hillary Clinton or Donald J. Trump is the leader they trust to protect them in an age of terror. A key test will come in Monday’s debate.
Lisa Feldman Barrett, New York Times – September 23, 2016
When Hillary Clinton participated in a televised forum on national security and military issues this month, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, tweeted that she was “angry and defensive the entire time — no smile and uncomfortable.” Mrs. Clinton, evidently undaunted by Mr. Priebus’s opinion on when she should and shouldn’t smile, tweeted back, “Actually, that’s just what taking the office of president seriously looks like.”
Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times – September 21, 2016
What do voters hear when Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, in interview after interview, praises his running mate Donald Trump’s “broad shoulders”? What do they hear when Trump repeatedly criticizes Hillary Clinton for not looking presidential — “and you need a presidential look”? Or when he time and again calls into question her strength and stamina?
Peter Beinart, The Atlantic – September 8, 2016
Over the past few years, political scientists have suggested that, counterintuitively, Barack Obama’s election may have led to greater acceptance by whites of racist rhetoric. Something similar is now happening with gender. Hillary Clinton’s candidacy is sparking the kind of sexist backlash that decades of research would predict. If she becomes president, that backlash could convulse American politics for years to come.
Meredith Conroy and Caroline Heldman, New West Blog – September 5, 2016
The problem with this seemingly radical installation is the underlying theme that feminized men are less fit to lead. That Trump is without his balls unwittingly elevates masculinity in the presidential contest at the expense of femininity. This is certainly not the first time this message has circulated in presidential politics, and these messages incentivize both men and women to take on more masculine behaviors and positions, which limit political diversity and representation.
Ana Stevenson, Conversation US – August 21, 2016
Just as Australian journalists derided Gillard for supposedly “playing the gender card”, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has accused Clinton – his opponent in November – of playing the “woman’s card”. This can be contextualised in terms of the feminist theory of post-feminism. When male politicians speak of women in such ways, they normalise masculinity while foregrounding the supposed insignificance of gender. This renders gender absolutely central to political debate.