Dress to Win: The Politics of Fashion

  The women of Seneca Falls must have been restlessly turning in their graves, when the 2012 Presidential Debate brought the heat directly to the next First Lady’s closets.

Apparently, the “Yahoo! News Politics” page thinks fashion decisions are cover material on their pretty-in-pink female-targeted politics page, nicknamed “Yahoo! Shine”. Never mind the healthcare dilemma, hush-up about birth control restrictions and smarten up. The real question is quite simple. When deciding the future of American politics, whom do you choose; a lady in geometric-print dress or a lady in a sleek classic white two-piece suit?

As if to add injury to insult, the ideals of Republican Motherhood seem to govern the site. Republican Motherhood, the post- American Revolutionary concept of a woman’s place in politics, named woman responsible for raising strong, smart Republican boys into the leaders of the future.  What about little Sally, you might ask? Well of course she’d have to grow up to be a Republican Mother herself, so that the tradition may continue and the sanctity of American liberties may be preserved. At least these women were granted some form of mature political education.

So one might ask, how does this outdated concept relate to the politics of today? The “chic”  “Yahoo! Shine” furnishes it’s readers with tutorials on how to introduce politics to children, providing a lack of information to base opinions and gossipy columns on marriages in the White House. Having just passed the centennial mark of woman’s suffrage, go celebrate! Educate yourself, ladies, and make a well informed vote this upcoming election, if not for you at least for those who dedicated their lives to the cause.