News coverage of female candidate’s appearance damages her chance of winning
Posted by Diana Reese on April 8, 2013 at 12:57 am
Even such a neutral description of a female candidate’s appearance can hurt her chances at getting elected, according to a study released today by Name It. Change It., a joint project of The Women’s Media Center and She Should Run.
News coverage that referred to a female candidate as “fit and attractive and looks even younger than her age,” even though it sounded complimentary, hurt the voters’ perceptions of the politician for being in touch and being likeable, confident, effective and qualified.
Both negative and positive comments caused damage. The voters whose responses were affected the most by coverage of a candidate’s appearance were independents — and their support often determines the outcome of an election.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ce-of-winning/