Republican Ads Belittle Women

Mid-term elections are quickly approaching, and both political parties are desperate for congressional wins. The Republican Party is especially determined to maintain their majority in Congress and take over the majority in the Senate. Currently at 234 Republicans and 205 Democrats, and 45 to 53 in the Senate respectively, the Republican Party aims to get as many of their congressmen elected to continue to oppose any policy pushed by President Obama.

Over time, women have become a more and more crucial demographic to elections and capturing their vote is now almost essential for a win. It is no secret that the Republican Party has a history of alienating women and women’s rights. This can be seen with the GOP’s general stance on abortion and the contraception rights of women, as well as marriage equality and equal pay. Therefore, in order to get candidates elected, the GOP’s College Republican National Committee has now launched a series of new ads specially made to appeal to women.

However, these new ads have not shown what the Republican Party can do for women or any argument for their political stances at all. Instead, they have merely created a parody of stereotypical “feminine” shows, such as Say Yes to the Dress and The Bachelorette.

Yes, you read that right. Political ads based on TLC shows now actually exist.

Some examples of these ads can be seen here:

These ads cannot be described as anything other than insulting and sexist. They do not talk about any stances on issues, international affairs, or ideologies. Instead they compare voting for a candidate to choosing clothes or a dating partner. Because those are the only things women care about according to the GOP.

Another ad from Americans for Shared Prosperity as well have an anti-Obama ad, which encourages women to “break up” with Obama by voting Republican in this mid-term election.

Not only are these ads disrespectful, they also perpetuate the idea that women only see men as potential partners and that women’s priorities are centered around relationships and romance. Based on these ads, women do not care about governmental affairs but only trivial, shallow topics and are easily swayed by the glitz of romance. This is insulting to women’s intelligence and is a poor excuse for “reaching out” to female voters.

Rather than adhering to women’s rights or issues, the Republican Party chooses to allude women to vote for them, but ultimately creates a campaign that blatantly belittles women’s political aptitude.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart even had a satirical skit on their show about the ludicrous campaign.

These ads are a slap in the face to the great political minds of women like Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi. The Republican party needs to start taking women seriously, as thoughtful voters who care about the state of the country more than dating shows. Politicians cannot garner women’s attention by comparing political leaders to a style of a dress.

Women cannot take the GOP seriously until the GOP takes women seriously.