August 12, Rhonda Garelick, distinguished professor of English and Journalism at SMU Dallas, for a piece about the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz democratic presidential ticket and how age, gender and appearance can be muted or magnified in the presentation. Published in Garelick’s New York Times ‘Face Forward’ column under the heading Paying More Attention to His Appearance Than Hers: https://tinyurl.com/uzaemwbx
Historically, women in the public eye have been described as women first, and everything else second: “women politicians,” not just politicians; “women authors”; or “women artists,” for example. Along with the labeling comes the long list of expectations, especially in politics, which typically breaks down into three basic categories: body (Is she pretty enough, or maybe too pretty? Does she dress badly or too well?); temperament (Is she nice or overbearing? Is she too emotional? Too ambitious?); and family (Is she a childless cat lady? A mother? Is her husband really running the show?).
Remarkably though, Kamala Harris seems to be evading much of this, starting with her perceived age. Ms. Harris will be 60 in two months. Yet she seems just somehow outside the category of age — not young, but also not old or even middle age. True, she is more than 20 years younger than President Biden and telegraphs energy and exuberance. She dances; she sings; she laughs; she’s friends with Quavo. But when she rebukes a disruptive protester at a rally with her trademark, “I’m speaking,” she is the adult in the room — fully mature, yet nowhere near “old.” And also free of the staid or matronly connotations of the “middle-age woman.”
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