Research Proposal
I have chosen to research American society’s criticism toward a woman’s physical appearance as opposed to her merit and intellectual capacities. More specifically, I wanted to hone in on a prominent female political figure as the politicians and elections are dominating the news right now. A female politician is an effective example because her policies are what should be considered, but because of the time spent in front of the camera speaking and having to look proper and professional along with the expectations society has for women, she will inevitably be judged based on her physical appearance.
That being said, the individual I initially thought I would be focusing on is Carly Fiorina because of the comments made in regards to her and women by Donald Trump. After furthering my research proposal, I realized it would be even more effective to focus on the individual male making those offensive comments as it represents how some Americans still view women and the role they should play today; therefore, the individual I will be focusing on is Donald Trump. As previously mentioned, Donald Trump represents a significant portion of Americans, evident by his popularity, making this topic important to explore because that would mean there is something still embedded in American values for women to be held to different standards than men.
I plan to explore the topic for my research project through scholarly articles and subtler, indirect commentaries demonstrating the issue of gender inequality and female objectification. An article I already found, for example, is an article on the Huffington Post for women discussing men telling women to smile and that there is an underlying expectation for women to be physically appealing through this as men are not expected to look friendly all the time, correlating with my research.
Annotated Bibliography (click here).
Draft 1
As election season inches closer, we are exposed to more and more points of view from both political parties, some more controversial and harsh than others. Very opinionated on the hot issue of immigration, an individual who has received possibly the most attention during this 2016 election process arose: Donald Trump. This individual soon proved to possess even more reactionary beliefs on other issues regarding Muslims, the disabled, and possibly one of the most shockingly overlooked: women. Now, the saying goes, “All press is good press,” which has apparently proved true for Donald Trump, so the goal of this research paper is not to highlight this businessman, turned politician, but rather to demonstrate that his popularity in this nation represents the same ideology toward women is held by a vast number of the American people.
“26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military-only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?”, “You know, it doesn’t really matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass,” and "I mean, we could say politically correct that look doesn't matter, but the look obviously matters… Like you wouldn't have your job if you weren't beautiful,” are just some of the few sexist and plain offensive comments that Donald Trump has made toward or in regards to women. The comment that received the most attention was made about the only female Republican candidate: Carly Fiorina. The comment is as follows: “Look at that face. Would anybody vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?! I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?” This single comment reflects Donald Trump’s belief along with many other Americans’ that women are not intellectually competent enough to assume the presidency but must rather focus on being aesthetically pleasing. If this explicit objectification is not shocking enough, the wide support for Donald Trump from American men and women both should be.
For Draft 2 click here.
Draft 2 Revised
Should Donald Trump Be the Ideal Candidate for Women?
As election season inches closer, we are exposed to more and more points of view from both political parties, some more controversial and harsh than others. Very opinionated on the hot issue of immigration, an individual who has received possibly the most attention during this 2016 election process arose: Donald Trump. This individual soon proved to possess even more reactionary beliefs on other issues regarding Muslims, the disabled, and possibly one of the most shockingly overlooked: women. Now, the saying goes, “All press is good press,” which has apparently proved true for Donald Trump, so the goal of this research paper is not to highlight this businessman, turned-politician, but rather to demonstrate that his popularity in the United States of America represents that his ideology toward women is held by a vast number of the American people.
“26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military-only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?”, “You know, it doesn’t really matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass,” and "I mean, we could say politically correct that look doesn't matter, but the look obviously matters… Like you wouldn't have your job if you weren't beautiful,” are just some of the few sexist and plain offensive comments that Donald Trump has made toward or in regards to women. The comment that has received the most attention during Donald Trump’s campaign was made about the only female Republican candidate, Carly Fiorina. The comment was expressed as follows:
“Look at that face. Would anybody vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?! I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?”
This single comment reflects Donald Trump’s belief along with many other Americans’ that women are not intellectually competent enough to assume the presidency but must rather focus on doing what they can to be pleasing to men, particularly aesthetically pleasing. If this explicit objectification is not shocking enough, the wide support for Donald Trump from American men and women both should be with comments ranging from, “Donald Trump is awesome! He speaks the truth to the political establishment,” to “Donald Trump is the only candidate seeking to put America’s interests first.”
The United States is a country, much like the vast majority, that attributes its beginnings to “the founding fathers”: men. From its start, the nation relied on white men to make executive decisions in regards to the economic, political, and social aspects of society affecting everyone. Though one would think it would be a consensus among the American people that this is an archaic way of operating, it is still very influential in how we live our lives today, and it is apparent that the American people subtly hold the belief that men should dominate politics and other leadership positions in American society.
Mirya Holman in Women in Politics in the American City examines whether the American people believe it is important to have a greater female representation in the government (Holman 195). The United States in comparison to other nations has a dismal number of females in government, coming in at number 95 out of countries with the most female representation in government (“Women in parliaments” ipu.org). Many people have the misconception that there are not many women in the government or in the STEM field because it is their own decision, much like the case with minorities; they fail to recognize that this is not a micro issue but is rather a systemic issue, and this is what Holman points out in her work. “Women’s absence in executive positions throughout history has influenced their presence, or lack thereof, today and the reassurance of their continued marginalization” (Holman 195). Besides the fact that Carly Fiorina was the only female candidate for the “Grand Old Party” and Hillary Clinton was the sole female candidate for the Democratic Party, male perspectives-and particularly fellow presidential candidate perspectives—toward women’s position in government has proved that female representation in government remains a foreign idea for Americans in the 21st century.
Moreover, the contributions that women have provided throughout history are not valued either. Christiane Olivo in “Bringing Women In: Gender and American Government and Politics Textbooks” addresses the fact that history textbooks focus on the achievement on the behalf of men. The author argues that “incorporating female experiences into textbooks is possible and would foster a more positive attitude toward women’s involvement in politics today,” (Olivo 145), similar to what is expressed by Wages in the Huffington Post. And though specifically designated gender roles between men and women were the primary reason women did not have roles of the same caliber as opposed to men, their contributions as mothers, teachers, supporters, etc. continued to have as a great of an impact on the future of the American people as the contributions of men did.
Equally as influential on the American people’s beliefs that men should dominate the political world and serve as leaders is this idea of gender roles. There is an idea that men must be tough and domineering while women must be gentle and emotional. This phenomenon is seen in various settings, including the political world, and the prime example is Arnold Schwarzenegger. His radiation of masculinity and power are accepted by the American public, undermining women’s chances in obtaining leadership positions as well as men who do not abide by traditional gender norms. He idealizes one strict gender and attitude or mannerisms that should come from that gender and therefore hinders those who deviate from these gender norms. The solution therefore is for both men and women to establish compassion as the primary value that should be embodied (Messner 480). This will be effective in that it will avoid setting different standards for men and women.
Jon Stewart in The Daily Show highlighted the same issue but rather focusing on the women’s side. Hillary Clinton had recently faced accusations of not being able to stand her ground as the president of the United States of America for being “too emotional”, as women very much so are expected to be as per social standards. He responds by stating comments made by Americans on some videos of the former speaker of the house, John Boehner; Mitt Romney; and other males as they cry (Stewart The Daily Show). All the comments state how kind they are for caring about the nation so much and how passionate they are – double standard much? The use of satire by Jon Stewart provides a great source of social commentary because it effectively addresses and criticizes American ideology.
Lastly, the issue so evidently presented through Donald Trump’s comments in regards to Carly Fiorina and echoed by the American people is the belief that women’s physical appearance should be held to a ridiculous standard, and not expected of men, as opposed to what they can offer intellectually. Donald Trump’s criticism of Carly Fiorina’s “face” by stating that it appears unfriendly, or not decent enough to be the face of the next president, further demonstrates the different expectations the American people hold for women as opposed to men. Men are not expected to look friendly or any other certain way; they are praised for being stern and at times looked down upon for being “too soft” (Caponga huffingtonpost.com). The fact that men feel they have the right to tell a woman to “smile”, or state that a woman must look friendly without being questioned why portrays this idea that society is on a man’s side when it comes to their representation in politics and that inequality is present.
It is a popular idea, among men and women both, that women are more aesthetically pleasing; this promotes female objectification and the norm of heterosexuality in addition to the issue of women being held to different standards than men; sexual orientation also becomes an issue (Weiss Everyday Feminism). Amidst all these beauty standards that women are held to, they not only begin to believe that they are the most beautiful gender like others do, but because of this they also begin to see being physically pleasing as their greatest worth. “Women do not have confidence in themselves because of a historically male-dominated society,” (Sandberg TEDWomen). This justifies the lack of women involved in politics in the United States and hones in on it being an internal issue because of the external issue. Overall, because of the standards proclaimed toward women throughout time, they are underrepresented in the government because they are not thought to be of the same intellectual worth as men are.
Donald Trump’s comments and presence in the United States society has had great implications for various groups of people, including women. The greatest, most underlying implication, is that the vast majority of Americans do not believe women should be great political leaders because of previous male-dominated government, socially accepted gender roles, and the belief that women must be beautiful over intelligent, evident in comments, such as “Women were meant to either be wives or prostitutes”. The American people undermine you, capable women, and Donald Trump’s presence and comments about Carly Fiorina have simply served to highlight this shocking but not so surprising issue.
Artist Statement
My purpose in writing this piece was to express the perspective that the majority of the American people have demonstrated to hold toward women. I have chosen a popular individual in the media and society right now to address a not-so popular (though it should be) topic; I have chosen Donald Trump and his comments and views toward women paired with his approval rates by the American people to justify that the nation has the same view he does: women’s primary value does not lie in what she has to offer intellectually. I am specifically addressing female Donald Trump supporters as this is the audience most crucial to have understand the issue at hand. Considering this I have chosen peer-reviewed articles as well as political commentaries, Ted talks, etc. for a vast variety of sources. My tone has been a good mix of surprised and not-so surprised at this current phenomenon in American society, beginning my paper with shocking facts and ending it with a conclusion supporting my statements. The ultimate goal is for female Trump supporters to stop supporting Trump because it is allowing for a further devaluing of women. Considering this, I may have to drive this home a bit better and possibly address the individual more. Overall, my argument has been very logical, and I am getting my point across.
Works Cited
The Broads Must Be Crazy- Belittled Women. Dir. Elizabeth Warren. Perf. Jon Stewart. The Daily Show. Comedy Central, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
Caponga, Kyle. “How I Feel When Men Tell Me to Smile.” Huffpost Women 4 December 2015: 1. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
Heany, Katie. “The 11 Dumbest Things Said About Women in 2013.” Standard blog. BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed, Inc., 30 December 2013. Web. 25. February. 2016.
Holman, Mirya R. Women in Politics in the American City. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2014. 197.
Messner, Michael A. “The Masculinity of the Governator: Muscle and Compassion in American Politics”. Gender and Society 21.4 (2007): 461–480. Web.
Olivo, Christiane. “Bringing Women In: Gender and American Government and Politics Textbooks.” Journal of Political Science Education. 8.2 (2012): 131-146. Web.
Praino, Rodrigo, and Daniel Stockemer. “Looking Good or Looking Competent? Physical Appearance and Electoral Success in the 2008
Congressional Elections.” American Politics Research. 42.6 (2014): 1096-1117. Web.
Sandberg, Sheryl. “Why we have too few women leaders.” TEDWomen. Dec. 2010. Lecture. 15 Feb. 2016.
Wages, Joan. “The Average American Has a Lot to Learn About Women’s History.” Huffpost Women 29 December 2015: 1. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
Weiss, Suzannah. “5 Problems with the Social Idea that ‘Women Are More Aesthetically Pleasing’.” Everyday Feminism 22 February 2016: 1. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
"Women in Parliaments: World Classification." Women in Parliaments: World Classification. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.