Never before in American history has there been as much excitement surrounding a presidential election than there was for the 2008 election. All of the excitement was hardly a surprise, considering how historic of an election it was. This was the first election in American history with a major African-American candidate, and subsequent President-elect. On a negative note, however, the election was also plagued with major claims of sexism that were catapulted onto the national stage for the public to see. While Senators John McCain and Barack Obama were criticized mainly on their ideas and beliefs, Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor Sarah Palin were harshly criticized on their physical appearance and attitude, in addition to their ideas and beliefs. While they were not treated equally in comparison to the men in the election, more significantly, was that they were not treated equally in comparison to one another.

Sexism, like most other problems in our society, is not simply defined in terms of black and white. Instead, sexism takes form in many complex shades of gray, which makes it harder to confront, as well as harder to distinguish. Throughout the campaign process Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor Sarah Palin both experienced different forms of sexism. This was noticed by the mass media, which wasted no time capitalizing on it. Of all of the television shows that covered this issue, Saturday Night Live in particular became infamous for their take on the evolving political circus. The SNL sketch, "A Nonpartisan Message from Governor Sarah Palin & Senator Hillary Clinton," personally affected me, because it was the first time that I actually realized the role sexism was playing in the election. It was also when I realized just how differently the media was treating each of the female candidates.

In a society that values youth and harshly criticizes outward appearance, there is no way to really escape sexism. Advertisers often exploit attractive young women to make consumers stop and stare at their products, whether it is lipstick or truck tires.

The sketch, which features Amy Poehler and Tina Fey in the respective roles of Senator Clinton and Governor Palin, focuses on the aforementioned role of sexism in the election. It begins and progresses with each candidate talking about the way that sexism has affected her personally on the road to the White House. Poehler, as Clinton, speaks about how the media has essentially labeled her as a heartless, bitter old woman. On the other hand, Fey, in the role of Palin, energetically tells the media to stop using words like pretty, attractive, and beautiful to describe her. Although SNL pokes fun at each of the women, it does highlight a sad reality about the standards that the women were compared to.

Since Hillary Clinton isn’t exactly the youngest female politician on Capitol Hill and was brutally battling Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, she was subsequently, although not bluntly, labeled as a “bitch,” as many other older women in power are. Also, considering the fact that Hillary Clinton has been a household name for almost twenty years, there is essentially very little that is unknown about her life at this point. As a result, critics were quick to point to the skeletons in her closet, which led her to pull double duty, doing both intense damage control and serious campaigning simultaneously. Even on the campaign trail, it seemed as though Clinton had to be extra vigilant about what she said, as any minor flub or controversy was instantaneously being dissected on CNN. On the other hand, her male opponents, while also constantly trying to keep their reputations spotless, seemed to get off a little easier. For example, during Barack Obama’s campaign, controversy surrounding Reverend Jeremiah Wright was the top story for a few weeks. However, after Obama denounced Wright for his comments, the American public seemed more than willing to forgive and forget.

Interestingly enough, Sarah Palin received a polar-opposite reaction, no pun intended, when she arrived on the scene. Because of Palin’s youth and physical attractiveness, as well as her lack of hard credentials in comparison to Clinton, she has been portrayed in the media as more of a pop culture icon and sensation than a serious politician. She was seen as more of a “Republican Barbie,” instead of the actual vice presidential nominee. Also, prior to her nomination, Palin was essentially unheard of outside of Alaska. This led to a natural curiosity about her and her life, which led the media, as well as the public, to stray away from the issues that really mattered while focusing on everything else from Palin’s choice of shoes to her childhood in Alaska. Palin’s ability as a mother was even called into question as her teenage daughter was publicly revealed to be pregnant, furthering speculation that she could not do an adequate job as vice president while trying to raise her family. On the other side of the spectrum, balancing work and a family has never been a major cause for debate for male candidates.

With sexist mudslinging occurring everyday on our TV screens throughout the election, I realized how the presidential election can be used as a mirror to our everyday lives. No matter how much we would like to think that it isn’t true, we can’t deny fact that sexism is still very prevalent in our society. In a society that values youth and harshly criticizes outward appearance, there is no way to really escape sexism. Advertisers often exploit attractive young women to make consumers stop and stare at their products, whether it is lipstick or truck tires. Turn on any TV show and you’re basically guaranteed to see an attractive actress in the role of some femme fatale, portraying some domestic fantasy. Although some people might argue that over the years women have become more outspoken on TV shows, the fact still remains that many female characters are still trophy wives married to dim-witted, yet lovable men. A prime example is the animated sitcom Family Guy, where Peter Griffin, the main character, is married to a beautiful wife, Lois, who is often the voice of reason. Peter himself is overweight, irrational, and the consequences of his decisions often negatively affect somebody else. On the other end of the spectrum are the women of Sex and the City, who are critically praised for being witty and independent, yet still stereotyped as being ditzy, shoe-obsessed, and worried about having a man to go home to every night.

Since the media is so prevalent in our everyday lives, it is nearly impossible for women not to be affected by it. The consequences of sexism in the media affect women of all ages. Advertisers covet the lucrative teenage girl demographic, which they manipulate into buying their products with the false promise of happiness. Thousands of young girls suffer from eating disorders as they are pressured to fit into the smallest possible jeans size at Abercrombie & Fitch. As young women get older, the pressure remains, and they feel that they must settle down with a husband a certain “deadline” in order to avoid spending the rest of their lives as decrepit and lonely old spinsters. At the same time, women are also encouraged to be independent and successful. Yet this is contradicted again by the notion that women are also pressured to not scare off potential spouses by appearing “intimidating” as a result of their success, and that those who do are somehow considered aggressive and unlikable. This all culminates within our society, where we give young girls difficult to attain standards. In many ways our society expects girls to be a combination of smart, attractive, successful, maternal, and damsel-esque. While boys are often pressured too by society to be well-rounded, there is much less emphasis on boys having a perfect balance of emotional and physical qualities, and it is seemingly more acceptable for them to exceed more in one area.

With the media constantly bombarding us with contradictory messages that promote the objectification of women while at the same time encouraging women to be successful and independent while also labeling accomplished women as “bitches”, what are we, the general public, supposed to do? It is not enough to simply try to ignore the problem and hope that it will go away, because it won’t, not with how interwoven sexism is into our society. If ignored, the standards for men and women will continue to remain unequal towards women, and possibly over time, get much worse. What needs to be done first and foremost is for society as a whole to rally together and say that sexism is unacceptable in today’s world. If our culture formally denounces sexism, then the media will have no other choice than to follow suit. I realize that this is much, much easier said than done, but then again, who ever made progress without trying?