What If Sanford Were a Woman?
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“We careened… from not having enough information about the governor to having too much. Way too much,” says Ruth Marcus at the Washington Post. “There was Sanford talking about ‘that whole sparking thing’ and ‘serious overdrive.’ Really, if Sanford’s sparking, I don’t want to know about it, whatever drive he’s in.”
Well, neither do I. But you can’t blame Sanford for the fact that Americans demand their married, male politicians report any deviation from a “normal” sex life. He gave us an epic, fall-from-grace religious narrative because the governor of South Carolina, for whatever reason, is held to a particular standard of sexual conduct—one that does not allow for meaningless dalliances. The remarkable thing about Sanford is how fervently he seems to buy into the justness of this demand; unlike, say Bill Clinton, or Larry Craig, he never seemed bitter at some perceived violation of privacy. If it seemed more like a therapy session than a press conference, perhaps its because Sanford gave so willingly what his audience was demanding.
Looking over the Double X gallery of post-coital apologies, it occurs to me that we don’t really have a model for unfaithful politicians of the other sex. Would a woman in Sanford’s place, with four boys and a saintly husband at home, have had to confess on national television? Would we be comfortable with the press policing the sexual behavior of a young and powerful female politico?
Kerry Howley is a contributing editor at Reason Magazine and an Arts Fellow at the University of Iowa's literary nonfiction program.
Comments
Mark Sanford
By: gina | Sun, 06/28/2009 - 19:29
"...We don’t really have a model for unfaithful politicians of the other sex."
Why isn't there a serious discussion about why this is? Are female politicians better able to "keep it zipped"? Or are there some other factors at play? It seems a worthwhile thing to investigate further.
I agree with the previous poster about women in politics having been assailed with sexual comments and unsubstantiated innuendo, in spite of having been caught up in no such scandals as those of Mark Sanford, et (so many) al. I do remember Janet Reno and the cruel commentary about her, as well as nasty sexual comments about Hillary Clinton and many others.
What I had hoped to read under a post entitled "What if Sanford Were a Woman?"--rather than a suggestion of reverse gender discrimination--was a comment on the way Sanford's personal life has consumed him to the point of the near total dereliction of his obligations to his governorship. How many days, while the nation and his state face crises in so many spheres, has he devoted to damage control both personal and political? And how many more will follow? Had a female politician shown anywhere near this degree of personal preoccupation, would she not be lambasted as "emotionally" unfit for office and run out on a rail?
Sarah Palin, Exhibit A
By: Starling | Thu, 06/25/2009 - 10:55
Palin is already getting all sorts of attention about her sex life. This is the woman who was called a MILF, who gets "slutty flight attendant" jokes made about her, and whose sexual attractiveness was a major theme of speculation during her vice-presidential bid. So yes, we are already comfortable with the press policing the sexual behavior and even the sexual possibilities of a young and powerful female politician. If Palin had an affair, the feeding frenzy would be incredible.
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I should probably mention here that I hate Governor Palin with a deep and abiding hatred. This isn't about defending her against detractors, it's simply an observation that women in power are already perceived through the lens of their sexuality (anyone remember the comments about Janet Reno?) and not just their political role. So any ACTUAL sexual information would be jumped on with glee. Palin or another young and powerful female wouldn't need the circus of the disappearance, the foreign lover, or the messy onscreen confession to gin up interest.