Mentions of Appearance Hurt Female Politicians

While reading the news recently I came across an NPR article about women in politics, Study: Any Description Of A Woman's Appearance Hurts With Voters. The article focuses on two studies released by Name It. Change It., an organization which examines coverage of women in the media. In one survey, news quotes describing women's appearance were held how they did in the polls. There was found to be a correlation between how poor they did in the polls when their appearance was described. The survey states that whether they were described negatively, positively or indifferently did not matter,  all had negative effects. The second survey described a male and female candidate and then gauged how likely people were to vote for them based on politics. The female candidate edged out the male. The surveyors then added a physical description to the profile, and the women's numbers dropped. A researcher behind the studies, Celinda Lake, stated, "Even what we thought was benign coverage about how a woman dresses has a negative impact on her vote."

When I first read the article I was a bit flabbergasted that the mere mention of a woman's description was enough to change people's mind about a candidate. The survey states that even a neutral description can hurt a candidate. I think a larger issue here is the need to describe female politicians at all. The NPR article links to another in which President Obama referred to California Attorney General Kamala Harris as "the best looking Attorney General." The press often allude to the clothing or hairstyle or makeup female politicians are wearing, while rarely mentioning men's fashion choices. I feel as though the need to comment on women's clothing/makeup is a way to other them. It distracts from whatever message the politician is trying to get across, and serves to remind people that these aren't politicians, they're female politicians. Whatever issues they may bring up, they are secondary to the fact that they are women. This is harmful not only to politicians, but all women. No matter how serious a woman's position is, we can pick apart her clothes and makeup. It speaks to the issue of women's bodies being open to comment whether they like it or not. I would like to think that the height of a woman's heel or what color suit she wears has no effect on her capability to do her job well. These surveys seem to suggest that many do not agree with me. Does the description of a female candidate change your mind about her abilities?