Professors discuss gender in the U.S. political system

Leslie Culver / Staff Writer / The USD Vista

“Professors Casey Dominguez and Noelle Norton of the Political Science department conducted a discussion that centered on the role of gender in politics. The discussion focused primarily around the current presidential election with regards to the differences between former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. While some students disagreed about how gender affects the public’s perception of these politicians, both professors agreed that gender does not play much of a role and that it is more of an advantage. Dominguez stated that “while Hillary Clinton ran a good campaign and won 18 million votes in the Democratic primary electorate, sexism was not a factor.”

Norton agreed with that statement and added that while sexism exists at some levels in the political realm, most voters base their vote on the issues and not on the candidate’s gender, although women generally make more money during their campaign than their male counterparts.

The students involved in the discussion specifically brought up McCain’s vice presidential candidate choice, Sarah Palin. One participant was interested in the place Palin’s children held in the campaign, stating that this issue goes back to the notion that women belong in the home and not in the workplace. Norton responded that it stems from the root of sexism where women are considered as family caretakers. However, while the issue has been taken into great consideration lately, Dominguez also pointed out that Sarah Palin has been questioned intensely about her experience as Alaska’s governor. A few students replied that this is obviously a question of intelligence, that whether her experience as a governor would be enough to handle the complexity of foreign affairs.

The conversation also brought up that Palin and Clinton, while of different political affiliations, both face contemporary issues that stem from sexism that may still underlie in the political system. According to Norton, the media perceives Palin as exceptionally attractive while Clinton is always perceived as ambitious and more career focused. Both women have had to face these issues.

The discussion’s general conclusion seemed to be that sexism exists in the political arena, but that the real issue is whether it effects who wins. Norton referred to the polls recently taken that show men as 10 percent more likely than women to be registered with the Republican party. Does this mean that Republican candidates need to work harder to win more female votes? And does this mean that Democratic candidates need to work harder to win more male votes? The discussion provided a forum to talk about these issues and uncover whether or not sexism currently exists in the political system.”