It’s no secret that women are exploited by the media. With the hype surrounding the Federal Election, and the coverage of America’s next Presidential Election, I started thinking about the ways in which women in politics, in particular, are portrayed by the media. “First lady Michelle Obama serves as a fashion icon,” “Power Dressing: How Women Politicians Use Fashion,” “The Hillary Clinton look: power hair, pantsuits and practicality,” “Michelle Obama: Fashion’s first lady.” These are all headlines provided by The Washington Post, BBC News, The Guardian, and Forbes. Women in politics are largely misrepresented by the media, the focus generally being on fashion, domestic roles, and maternal capability. According to a book entitled Women in Politics and Media, a long-scale Canadian study that was done between 1975 and 2012, and compared the media coverage of both male and female politicians, found that “women did receive more attention to their physical characteristics and personal lives thus underscoring the gendered nature of personalization in political reporting.” Michelle Obama, wife of the President of the United States, first African-American First Lady of the United States, writer, and Harvard-trained lawyer, is more often than not, reduced by popular media to a fashion icon. Hillary ...
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