Male Senator Mocks Woman’s Body, Falls Into Gender Trap
Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) fell into a predictable gender trap earlier today when he slammed the body of a female competitor for his Senate seat.
Here’s the background: In 1982, long before he became a U.S. Senator, Mr. Brown posed nude for Cosmopolitan Magazine. During a Democratic primary debate earlier this week, Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren was asked how she paid for college, given that Mr. Brown stripped to pay his tuition.
“I kept my clothes on,” Ms. Warren quipped, to the delight of the audience. (Video here, about 14:50 in).
Scott Brown posing nude for Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1982
During a radio interview with Boston’s 100.7 WZLX earlier today, Sen. Brown responded:
Hosts: “Have you officially responded to Elizabeth Warren’s comment about how she didn’t take her clothes off?”
Scott Brown, laughing: “Thank God.”
With that broadside, Mr. Brown stepped into a gender minefield that threatens to alienate many female voters. To be sure, Ms. Warren’s swipe was unnecessary and gratuitous – and the question itself was sophomoric. But regardless of whether or not Ms. Warren opened the door to Mr. Brown’s response (she did), the political price will be paid almost solely by Mr. Brown.
The list of male politicians who lost support by mistreating a female competitor is long. Here are three examples:
1. Hillary Clinton vs. Barack Obama (2008): After winning the Iowa caucus, Senator Barack Obama was widely expected to win the pivotal New Hampshire primary and cruise to an easy nomination. But after taking a gratuitous swipe at Senator Clinton’s likeability in a debate held just days before the vote, female voters handed Ms. Clinton an unexpected victory, helping to extend her campaign for months.
2. Hillary Clinton vs. Rick Lazio (2000): During a New York Senate debate, Republican candidate Rick Lazio aggressively approached Ms. Clinton’s lectern. He handed her a paper pledge to refuse any soft money to the campaign – but the move was widely seen as inappropriate and boorish. Mr. Lazio lost the once-close race by double digits.
3. Geraldine Ferraro vs. George H.W. Bush (1984): During the Vice Presidential debate, Vice President Bush took a patronizing tone with Rep. Ferraro when discussing foreign policy. Ms. Ferraro used her razor sharp tongue to let him know she didn’t appreciate it, earning her the applause of the audience and him the enmity of many opinion writers. In the end, it didn’t matter – Mr. Bush was part of a winning ticket that won 49 states.
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Terrible comeback. And since he should have known that it was coming, it’s a perfect chance to redirect: “Those photos were taken a long time ago, and I don’t regret them, but I don’t want this to be a distraction to the issues at hand, such as…”
I heard Scott Brown say he was glad he did the nudes because it paid for his schooling and he wouldn’t be where he is today had he not done them. Hmmm. That sounds to me like the end justifies the means. Not exactly an American position; well, not a Republican position.
Actually, a witty and appropriate response, hardly a “broadside.” “Broadside” — was that a slip? 🙂 Who exactly made the photos an issue? Yeah, Ms. Warren. This vaguely paternalistic advice assumes that women who seek positions of power must be coddled in ways that men would never be (aside from the current resident of the White House). Voters will not be swayed by this one comment about a stupid controversy, so there will be no political price either way.
Hi Vincent,
Thank you for your comment. Perhaps the word “broadside” was a bit of a Freudian slip on my part – certainly not intentional. 🙂
I disagree that my advice was “paternalistic.” The intent of my piece was less to judge the appropriateness of the remark itself, and more to highlight that men typically pay a larger political price in these matters of gender. Ms. Warren’s comment was inappropriate, but I’d argue that Sen. Brown should have taken the high road instead of joining her in the mud. And history suggests if anyone pays a political price, it will be Sen. Brown. His defensiveness made this more of an issue, whereas a more confident reply would have helped relegate this non-issue to the background, where it belongs.
Thanks for reading and commenting, and please don’t be a stranger to the blog!
Best wishes,
Brad
If a candidate would like to not alienate half the electorate, commenting on the physical attractiveness or lack of physical attractiveness of female candidates is not the way to go. Women are keenly aware our cultural judges our value in large part based upon how we look. And I think women by and large resent it. Playing in to that unfair cultural bias is not a wise move (or what a good, decent person would do).