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| When the Resistance Meets the Polls: A Historic Week for Women Politicians | When the Resistance Meets the Polls: A Historic Week for Women Politicians |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| Gender Letter is a weekly take on news and culture. Tell me what you think at dearmaya@nytimes.com. | Gender Letter is a weekly take on news and culture. Tell me what you think at dearmaya@nytimes.com. |
| Yes, that’s the sound of glass shattering ahead of the midterm elections. And female candidates are stomping through the wreckage. | Yes, that’s the sound of glass shattering ahead of the midterm elections. And female candidates are stomping through the wreckage. |
| It’s been an election year already dominated by a surge of women, and a record number of L.G.B.T. candidates. While the sheer number of women running is not a surefire path to change — many were running against each other in primaries or in tough districts — this week’s Democratic primary signaled that the zeal was translating into votes. | It’s been an election year already dominated by a surge of women, and a record number of L.G.B.T. candidates. While the sheer number of women running is not a surefire path to change — many were running against each other in primaries or in tough districts — this week’s Democratic primary signaled that the zeal was translating into votes. |
| Ilhan Omar, a Democrat of Minnesota, is in position to become one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, after beating her closest opponent by more than 20,000 votes. She joins another Muslim, Rashida Tlaib, of Michigan, who won her primary last week. Ms. Tlaib is running unopposed in a very blue district. | |
| Jahana Hayes, a former national Teacher of the Year, moved closer to being Connecticut’s first black Democrat in Congress. And Christine Hallquist, a Democrat from Vermont, made history by becoming the first transgender candidate nominated for governorship by a major party. | Jahana Hayes, a former national Teacher of the Year, moved closer to being Connecticut’s first black Democrat in Congress. And Christine Hallquist, a Democrat from Vermont, made history by becoming the first transgender candidate nominated for governorship by a major party. |
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| Republican women entering the fray, though, are finding themselves in a bind, Kate Zernike, a Times national correspondent, reported this week. “Having long resisted identity politics, Republican women are reluctant or unable to claim any advantage to being a woman among voters,” she wrote. | Republican women entering the fray, though, are finding themselves in a bind, Kate Zernike, a Times national correspondent, reported this week. “Having long resisted identity politics, Republican women are reluctant or unable to claim any advantage to being a woman among voters,” she wrote. |
| I took the opportunity to chat with Ms. Zernike, who has spent years covering politics, most recently in a new series called “Campaigning While Female.” | I took the opportunity to chat with Ms. Zernike, who has spent years covering politics, most recently in a new series called “Campaigning While Female.” |
| Maya: What challenges do women candidates face that men do not? | Maya: What challenges do women candidates face that men do not? |
| Kate Zernike: They’re held to a higher standard. Like the old line about Ginger Rogers, they have to do everything men do but backwards in high heels. The old boys’ club means that male leaders tend to think of other men when they are nominating people for other leadership positions, or to run for office. Women are still expected to express themselves within a narrow range of emotions and personality traits: they can’t be too aggressive, they can’t be too soft. | Kate Zernike: They’re held to a higher standard. Like the old line about Ginger Rogers, they have to do everything men do but backwards in high heels. The old boys’ club means that male leaders tend to think of other men when they are nominating people for other leadership positions, or to run for office. Women are still expected to express themselves within a narrow range of emotions and personality traits: they can’t be too aggressive, they can’t be too soft. |
| [Sign up here to get future installments of the Gender Letter delivered to your inbox!] | [Sign up here to get future installments of the Gender Letter delivered to your inbox!] |
| But politics adds an extra challenge for women. The pay gap has made it harder for women to raise money. And research has shown that voters expect women to be likable, and to prove their qualifications; they assume men are qualified and don’t care if they are likable or not. | But politics adds an extra challenge for women. The pay gap has made it harder for women to raise money. And research has shown that voters expect women to be likable, and to prove their qualifications; they assume men are qualified and don’t care if they are likable or not. |
| Has anything about this wave of political candidates particularly surprised you? | Has anything about this wave of political candidates particularly surprised you? |
| Women aren’t waiting to be asked to run for office. They have more freedom in how they dress and present themselves ... nobody predicted that women would be showing their tattoos in political ads. More women are running with young kids; the assumption then was that they had to wait until the kids were grown. | Women aren’t waiting to be asked to run for office. They have more freedom in how they dress and present themselves ... nobody predicted that women would be showing their tattoos in political ads. More women are running with young kids; the assumption then was that they had to wait until the kids were grown. |
| What’s your reporting process been like? | What’s your reporting process been like? |
| I spend my workdays talking almost entirely to women. It’s different; I like it. It now almost startles me to quote a man in one of my stories; I am embarrassed to think of how often the female quote has been the exception. | I spend my workdays talking almost entirely to women. It’s different; I like it. It now almost startles me to quote a man in one of my stories; I am embarrassed to think of how often the female quote has been the exception. |
| Which races are you keeping an eye on? | Which races are you keeping an eye on? |
| There are a record number of women versus women races. For example, in Washington, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the highest-ranking Republican woman in Congress, is being challenged by Democrat Lisa Brown, who was the first female majority leader in the State Senate and stepped down as chancellor of Washington State University, in Spokane, to run for the seat. | There are a record number of women versus women races. For example, in Washington, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the highest-ranking Republican woman in Congress, is being challenged by Democrat Lisa Brown, who was the first female majority leader in the State Senate and stepped down as chancellor of Washington State University, in Spokane, to run for the seat. |
| And in Georgia, Stacey Abrams. Aren’t we all curious to see if Georgia is the first state to elect a black woman as governor? | And in Georgia, Stacey Abrams. Aren’t we all curious to see if Georgia is the first state to elect a black woman as governor? |
| ______ | ______ |
| “I didn’t vote.” | “I didn’t vote.” |
| “I hid my dad’s absentee ballot.” | “I hid my dad’s absentee ballot.” |
| “I don’t care about politics.” | “I don’t care about politics.” |
| These are among the stories we’ve heard whispered to friends or between courses at family dinners — confessions many people hesitate to share even with those closest to them. We’ve teamed up with Bustle to ask you: What’s a political belief or story you hesitate to confess? Share your political secret here and follow us on Instagram to keep up with the project. | These are among the stories we’ve heard whispered to friends or between courses at family dinners — confessions many people hesitate to share even with those closest to them. We’ve teamed up with Bustle to ask you: What’s a political belief or story you hesitate to confess? Share your political secret here and follow us on Instagram to keep up with the project. |
| ______ | ______ |
| • Woman v. woman: For the first time, this fall, five Senate races will feature only women as major party candidates. [The New York Times] | • Woman v. woman: For the first time, this fall, five Senate races will feature only women as major party candidates. [The New York Times] |
| • Christine Hallquist, the morning after her win. “I think it is all about widening our nation’s moral compass to be more inclusive,” she said. [The New York Times] | • Christine Hallquist, the morning after her win. “I think it is all about widening our nation’s moral compass to be more inclusive,” she said. [The New York Times] |
| • Ignore, condescend, dismiss. An offer to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez highlights how male candidates often use debates to diminish female opponents, perhaps increasingly at their peril. [The New York Times] | • Ignore, condescend, dismiss. An offer to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez highlights how male candidates often use debates to diminish female opponents, perhaps increasingly at their peril. [The New York Times] |
| • A “rainbow wave.” A record number of L.G.B.T.Q. candidates are running for office, as the Trump administration and state-level politicians have moved to roll back some legal protections. [The New York Times] | • A “rainbow wave.” A record number of L.G.B.T.Q. candidates are running for office, as the Trump administration and state-level politicians have moved to roll back some legal protections. [The New York Times] |
| ______ | ______ |
| For your weekend LOL: This 1904 article reads like a cautionary tale about how “clever” women, those of the “gentler sex,” can’t be trusted — particularly when it comes to voting. | For your weekend LOL: This 1904 article reads like a cautionary tale about how “clever” women, those of the “gentler sex,” can’t be trusted — particularly when it comes to voting. |
| It’s about the testimony in the case of John Franklin Shafroth, of Colorado, who had resigned his House seat because he believed that he hadn’t been fairly elected — thanks to women who (supposedly) stuffed the ballot boxes by voting more than once using false names. The “lovely woman” appeared to be a metaphor for these sneaky voters. ______ | It’s about the testimony in the case of John Franklin Shafroth, of Colorado, who had resigned his House seat because he believed that he hadn’t been fairly elected — thanks to women who (supposedly) stuffed the ballot boxes by voting more than once using false names. The “lovely woman” appeared to be a metaphor for these sneaky voters. ______ |
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