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Imagine Bernie Sanders as a Woman: And Other Writings on Politics and Media 2016-2019
The months between the presidential election of 2016 and the summer of 2019 have been a wild ride, from the unexpected (and for many traumatic) results of the election to growing recognition of how profoundly the Trump presidency has changed our lives, from discoveries of corruption and foreign influence on our democratic institutions to fresh assaults on reproductive rights, the Brett Kavanaugh hearings and the #MeToo movement, Robert Mueller's long-awaited report and its aftermath, and the beginnings of the 2020 primary contest.
Follow cultural historian and media critic Susan Bordo through those events as they happened, in a book whose format is uniquely designed to capture their immediacy. Combining full-length published pieces with spontaneous, unfiltered, never-before published posts, in a voice that is bracingly honest as well as critically penetrating, this collection goes beyond journalistic conventions to reveal the ways in which the political is indeed the personal.
A sampling: "Reflections on Trump's Inauguration," was inspired by an exchange of looks between Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton; "To the Core" recalls both the Anita Hill hearings and Bordo's own experience with sexual harassment in the context of #MeToo; "Please Mr. Prosecutor Mueller" is a personal plea as well as an argument about the power of television; "My MSNBC Interview" finds the author perched on a high stool in a local TV studio, talking about her just-published book on the election, finding out what it feels like to be misunderstood on national television; "On Not Letting Comey Off the Hook" precedes a hard-hitting review of James Comey's book with a personal protest against the idealization of Comey that followed his anti-Trump appearances on television; "Imagine Bernie Sanders as a Woman" confronts the double-standards and double-binds faced not only by female politicians but by all women who are seen as "leaning in" too much, while "Two Elizabeths" explores how the Tudor queen and the presidential contender negotiate those challenges in their differing historical contexts.
"Send the Children Out of the Room for This One" unflinchingly describes what it felt like to be the object of the Hillary-hate that was rampant among certain quarters of Sanders supporters. "The Little King" compares Donald Trump's combination of thin skin and authoritarian bullying to the imperious and volatile Henry VIII (who at least had the excuse of actually being King.) A section on Reproductive Rights takes on "fetal heartbeat" bills, not through familiar debates about the personhood of the fetus, but by arguing that such bills on are an assault on the personhood of the pregnant woman.
Throughout this diverse collection, the role of the mainstream media, both in the election of 2016 and continuing to the present, is highlighted and taken to task, not only for its negative influence--e.g. on perpetuating and sometimes creating overblown "scandals," false equivalences, and gendered double-standards--but its failure to take responsibility for that role. The media analysis is not all grim, however: The more light-hearted approach of "If George Orwell Could Critique Broadcast News" will entertain the reader with familiar examples of the clich�s of pundit-speak.
Susan Bordo, Professor Emerita at the University of Kentucky, is the author of numerous books in cultural history, media studies, and gender studies, most recently The Destruction of Hillary Clinton (2017) and The Creation of Anne Boleyn (2013.)
Follow cultural historian and media critic Susan Bordo through those events as they happened, in a book whose format is uniquely designed to capture their immediacy. Combining full-length published pieces with spontaneous, unfiltered, never-before published posts, in a voice that is bracingly honest as well as critically penetrating, this collection goes beyond journalistic conventions to reveal the ways in which the political is indeed the personal.
A sampling: "Reflections on Trump's Inauguration," was inspired by an exchange of looks between Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton; "To the Core" recalls both the Anita Hill hearings and Bordo's own experience with sexual harassment in the context of #MeToo; "Please Mr. Prosecutor Mueller" is a personal plea as well as an argument about the power of television; "My MSNBC Interview" finds the author perched on a high stool in a local TV studio, talking about her just-published book on the election, finding out what it feels like to be misunderstood on national television; "On Not Letting Comey Off the Hook" precedes a hard-hitting review of James Comey's book with a personal protest against the idealization of Comey that followed his anti-Trump appearances on television; "Imagine Bernie Sanders as a Woman" confronts the double-standards and double-binds faced not only by female politicians but by all women who are seen as "leaning in" too much, while "Two Elizabeths" explores how the Tudor queen and the presidential contender negotiate those challenges in their differing historical contexts.
"Send the Children Out of the Room for This One" unflinchingly describes what it felt like to be the object of the Hillary-hate that was rampant among certain quarters of Sanders supporters. "The Little King" compares Donald Trump's combination of thin skin and authoritarian bullying to the imperious and volatile Henry VIII (who at least had the excuse of actually being King.) A section on Reproductive Rights takes on "fetal heartbeat" bills, not through familiar debates about the personhood of the fetus, but by arguing that such bills on are an assault on the personhood of the pregnant woman.
Throughout this diverse collection, the role of the mainstream media, both in the election of 2016 and continuing to the present, is highlighted and taken to task, not only for its negative influence--e.g. on perpetuating and sometimes creating overblown "scandals," false equivalences, and gendered double-standards--but its failure to take responsibility for that role. The media analysis is not all grim, however: The more light-hearted approach of "If George Orwell Could Critique Broadcast News" will entertain the reader with familiar examples of the clich�s of pundit-speak.
Susan Bordo, Professor Emerita at the University of Kentucky, is the author of numerous books in cultural history, media studies, and gender studies, most recently The Destruction of Hillary Clinton (2017) and The Creation of Anne Boleyn (2013.)
230 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 5, 2020
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About the author
Susan Bordo
19 books225 followersSusan Bordo is known for the clarity, accessibility, and contemporary relevance of her writing. Her first book, The Flight to Objectivity, has become a classic of feminist philosophy. In 1993, increasingly aware of our culture's preoccupation with weight and body image, she published Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body, a book that is still widely read and assigned in classes today. During speaking tours for that book, she encountered many young men who asked, "What about us?" The result was The Male Body: A New Look at Men in Public and in Private (1999). Both books were highly praised by reviewers, with Unbearable Weight named a 1993 Notable Book by the New York Times and The Male Body featured in Mademoiselle, Elle, Vanity Fair, NPR, and MSNBC. Both books have been translated into many languages, and individual chapters, many of which are considered paradigms of lucid writing, are frequently re-printed in collections and writing textbooks. The Creation of Anne Boleyn: A New Look at England's Most Notorious Queen, was published to critical acclaim by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in April, 2013. The Destruction of Hillary Clinton followed in 2017. She lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, daughter, three dogs, a cat, and a cockatiel.
Bordo received her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1982. She recently retired from her position as Otis A. Singletary Chair in the Humanities and Professor of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Kentucky.
Bordo received her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1982. She recently retired from her position as Otis A. Singletary Chair in the Humanities and Professor of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Kentucky.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 11, 2020
To my relief, besides the title, and a few short sections, there was NOT a lot about Bernie Sanders in this collection of essays and musings about the impact of misogyny on the 2016 USA Presidential election... and beyond. It is TRUE that if there existed Bernadette Sanders, a similarly aged, rumpled woman with messy hair, a wagging finger and scant people skills, she would probably never have become a Senator, let alone a serious candidate for President.
But the problem is bigger than BS, it's a very sexist media who shapes the political stories, instead of simply reporting on them.
Disclaimer: I follow the author on social media.
Examined in some of the essays is the way media outlets failed in so many ways. Suckering for the "but her emails" stories about Hillary Clinton instead of "but her proposals and policies." Chuck Todd and Chris Hayes come in for criticism, along with virtue-signaling James Comey, who seems more interested in protecting his personal reputation than the United States.
I am not sure "enjoyed" is the right word for how I felt as I read. Validated, angered, saddened, frustrated. The problem isn't simply the media pundits who present their slant on the news on TV, but journalists, op-ed writers, and the media owners who either don't see, or don't want to see, the rampant sexism and racism among the good ol' boys they hire and protect.
It's a good read, but not a happy one.
But the problem is bigger than BS, it's a very sexist media who shapes the political stories, instead of simply reporting on them.
Disclaimer: I follow the author on social media.
Examined in some of the essays is the way media outlets failed in so many ways. Suckering for the "but her emails" stories about Hillary Clinton instead of "but her proposals and policies." Chuck Todd and Chris Hayes come in for criticism, along with virtue-signaling James Comey, who seems more interested in protecting his personal reputation than the United States.
I am not sure "enjoyed" is the right word for how I felt as I read. Validated, angered, saddened, frustrated. The problem isn't simply the media pundits who present their slant on the news on TV, but journalists, op-ed writers, and the media owners who either don't see, or don't want to see, the rampant sexism and racism among the good ol' boys they hire and protect.
It's a good read, but not a happy one.
May 26, 2020
“I don’t think we can move forward effectively unless and until we understand the past.”
In 2017, Susan Bordo published THE DESTRUCTION OF HILLARY CLINTON. It was a detailed analysis of many of the factors that led to her defeat in the 2016 Presidential election, something that very, very few expected. She was very popular, especially for her accomplishments as Secretary of State, until she ran for President. There were several causes for her defeat and Bordo put the blame heavily on political hatred, James Comey, and the media. It is an excellent analysis of the entire 2016 election process. But when Bordo spoke about it publicly, she faced the same problems, e.g., media bias and public attacks, as Hillary. Susan had very few TV interviews after publishing a book because she would not attack Hillary.
IMAGINE BERNIE SANDERS AS A WOMAN is a collection of her writings since November 2016. She not only includes some that deal specifically with that election but also events that have happened since then which have bearing on the current political climate. Much is an analysis of media coverage and how it has changed over the past few decades but it also includes essays on Jim Comey’s book, the GOP, Donald Trump’s pathology, Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court, Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s job restrictions and report, the #MeToo movement, reproductive rights (fetuses, through heartbeat bills, have more rights than pregnant women). It ends with the question: Will we ever have a woman president?
Since November 2016, our country has changed immensely. The problems that Hillary predicted would be caused by a Trump presidency have occurred. Bordo hoped that the public and the media would have learned a lesson from her earlier book and that things would change by the 2020 election. The fact that they haven’t she blames on the way women are treated when they run for a high public office. Men can look unkempt and unruly, yell, wave their arms around, and interrupt. Women, on the other hand, are attacked for the way they look, speak, and act. What they say is not important unless it is heavily controversial or if their actions are not “feminine” enough. An intelligent, well-spoken woman is considered to be the tool of the establishment.
Poor people, LGBTQ voters, and black women somehow don’t count when Democrats bemoan the loss of the base or failure to address the problems of the working class. It is no different from the way men act; they are castigated.
The differences between the way women and men are treated have permeated our society and government. For example, within the last month (May 2020), the US Supreme Court met from remote locations on-line and the public was able hear the arguments for several important cases. An analysis afterwards showed Chief Justice Roberts cut off the three women Justices more often and gave them the least amount of time to speak.
The media has changed dramatically during the past few decades. TV news provides less information and more entertainment, moving towards sensationalism and 24/7 coverage. Newspapers are going digital and dying with the emphasis on making money for the owners. Statistics, e.g., number of people attending a rally or poll numbers rather than on policy or experience, become predictions that become self-validating. The analysis behind those figures is ignored. For example, all the attention given to the first few 2020 primary elections without noting they were in states that do not represent the entire US population as a whole. Unfortunately, those results influenced who stayed in the race.
Instead of talking about the many similarities between the Progressives and Liberals, quite often meeting in the middle, the Democratic party is presented as being deeply and permanently divided. This does not help voters chose the best candidate.
Students today know how technology can change images and the view of history to make it more powerful. Revisionism is rampant. What they see on television becomes the standard. Students don’t learn civics. “How can a teacher challenge all the vibrantly simulated reality with boring old documents written in English that tries the patience of Twitter educated reader.”
Bordo also discusses the ability of the Trump administration, with the support of the GOP Senate, to use Congress and the courts to undo years of progress in the US.
These issues that Bordo raises are our challenges for the future but they are necessary to understand thoroughly to regain our country’s soul and spirit and move forward. Being a collection of previously published essays, each chapter in IMAGINE BERNIE SANDERS AS A WOMAN is complete without having to read the entire book. Because of that, one problem with reading the whole book is that there is some repetition. However, skipping parts will diminish some of the context and force.
In 2017, Susan Bordo published THE DESTRUCTION OF HILLARY CLINTON. It was a detailed analysis of many of the factors that led to her defeat in the 2016 Presidential election, something that very, very few expected. She was very popular, especially for her accomplishments as Secretary of State, until she ran for President. There were several causes for her defeat and Bordo put the blame heavily on political hatred, James Comey, and the media. It is an excellent analysis of the entire 2016 election process. But when Bordo spoke about it publicly, she faced the same problems, e.g., media bias and public attacks, as Hillary. Susan had very few TV interviews after publishing a book because she would not attack Hillary.
IMAGINE BERNIE SANDERS AS A WOMAN is a collection of her writings since November 2016. She not only includes some that deal specifically with that election but also events that have happened since then which have bearing on the current political climate. Much is an analysis of media coverage and how it has changed over the past few decades but it also includes essays on Jim Comey’s book, the GOP, Donald Trump’s pathology, Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court, Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s job restrictions and report, the #MeToo movement, reproductive rights (fetuses, through heartbeat bills, have more rights than pregnant women). It ends with the question: Will we ever have a woman president?
Since November 2016, our country has changed immensely. The problems that Hillary predicted would be caused by a Trump presidency have occurred. Bordo hoped that the public and the media would have learned a lesson from her earlier book and that things would change by the 2020 election. The fact that they haven’t she blames on the way women are treated when they run for a high public office. Men can look unkempt and unruly, yell, wave their arms around, and interrupt. Women, on the other hand, are attacked for the way they look, speak, and act. What they say is not important unless it is heavily controversial or if their actions are not “feminine” enough. An intelligent, well-spoken woman is considered to be the tool of the establishment.
Poor people, LGBTQ voters, and black women somehow don’t count when Democrats bemoan the loss of the base or failure to address the problems of the working class. It is no different from the way men act; they are castigated.
The differences between the way women and men are treated have permeated our society and government. For example, within the last month (May 2020), the US Supreme Court met from remote locations on-line and the public was able hear the arguments for several important cases. An analysis afterwards showed Chief Justice Roberts cut off the three women Justices more often and gave them the least amount of time to speak.
The media has changed dramatically during the past few decades. TV news provides less information and more entertainment, moving towards sensationalism and 24/7 coverage. Newspapers are going digital and dying with the emphasis on making money for the owners. Statistics, e.g., number of people attending a rally or poll numbers rather than on policy or experience, become predictions that become self-validating. The analysis behind those figures is ignored. For example, all the attention given to the first few 2020 primary elections without noting they were in states that do not represent the entire US population as a whole. Unfortunately, those results influenced who stayed in the race.
Instead of talking about the many similarities between the Progressives and Liberals, quite often meeting in the middle, the Democratic party is presented as being deeply and permanently divided. This does not help voters chose the best candidate.
Students today know how technology can change images and the view of history to make it more powerful. Revisionism is rampant. What they see on television becomes the standard. Students don’t learn civics. “How can a teacher challenge all the vibrantly simulated reality with boring old documents written in English that tries the patience of Twitter educated reader.”
Bordo also discusses the ability of the Trump administration, with the support of the GOP Senate, to use Congress and the courts to undo years of progress in the US.
These issues that Bordo raises are our challenges for the future but they are necessary to understand thoroughly to regain our country’s soul and spirit and move forward. Being a collection of previously published essays, each chapter in IMAGINE BERNIE SANDERS AS A WOMAN is complete without having to read the entire book. Because of that, one problem with reading the whole book is that there is some repetition. However, skipping parts will diminish some of the context and force.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews