WHAT A HEEL: The New Agenda Takes Reid To Task For Calling Palin “Shrill”
The New Agenda, a newly formed non-partisan women’s rights advocacy group, fired off a letter to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) to protest his spokesperson, Jim Manley, characterizing AK Gov. Sarah Palin’s RNC speech Wednesday night as “shrill.”
The letter said the group “strongly objects” to the word having been used to “intentionally … degrade and belittle Governor Palin because she is a female candidate” and reminded Reid that “shrill has very negative connotations when used to describe a woman or a woman’s voice.”
“If you’re shrill, your voice is raised and it’s high, says explains The New Agenda co-founder Amy Siskind. “What you are saying is less credible, that you are not in command, not logical and not commonsensical,” she explains, adding that “shrill” is the modern equivalent of “hysterical” – a diagnosis common in the Victorian era for a constellation of symptoms that included faintness, nervousness, insomnia and a “tendency to cause trouble.”
When Sacha Millstone, another New Agenda co-founder, hears the term it always brings to mind “a harpy or a fishwife.” To her, the word “implies a woman who is yelling at you, like a mother or wife,” and when used to describe a female candidate for office, “it’s meant to create an aversion to the woman in [the minds of] male voters.”
Millstone believes the word “shrill” was used deliberately and purposefully to attack Palin, because “she is very engaging and comes across as a down to earth person” and “[i]t was meant to create the opposite impression, especially among male voters.” The strategy is “to make this lovely and engaging woman … as unattractive as possible.”
The letter to Reid also points out that “shrill” has recently been used by the media “as a weapon against female candidates” and cites an article in New York Magazine describing Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as “terrifyingly shrill,” as well as this comment by former Rep. Joe Scarborough during an appearance on “Hardball” in February:
“[T]here is a shrillness in Hillary that comes out on TV whenever she gets excited about something. … [E]very time her voice goes up she gets very shrill.”
“Sexism has no place in this great county, and it is incumbent on the leadership of our political parties to set a higher standard that others can follow,” says Siskind. She adds that party leaders like Reid “need to speak out when the media engages in sexism.”
No one from Reid’s office was available Friday to comment on the letter, or on Manley’s remarks.
The New Agenda's co-founders say the group plans to monitor news coverage and statements by political pundits, campaign surrogates and other commentators for sexist bias throughout the campaign.
Reid is a jerk and every women should boycott him........
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Father forgive them for they have not answer this WOMAN!
Les H., Tampa, Fl
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I am so glad to see a bipartisan group standing up for true women's rights. Women of all parties should be ashamed and outraged at what our politicians as well as the media have done to Senator Clinton and now Governor Palin. We need to remind "Our" Politicians that "We" put them in office and "We" can remove them. We also need to remind the media that "We" pay their salary by watching their shows and buying their sponsors products and services. Thank You For This Site! And Thank You For What You Are Doing!
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