How women in politics are treated by the media

Did you know first ladies aren’t supposed to wear gowns off the rack to formal events? Laura Bush learned this lesson the hard way after showing up at a 2006 White House reception in the same gown as four other guests. CBS News correspondent Thalia Assura described the red dress as “... $8,500 Oscar de la Renta dress…”. After Bush’s staff realized several other women were wearing the dress she was escorted upstairs to change. Several articles were written about the mistake but reportedly everyone involved including the First Lady found it amusing. Anita McBride, Laura Bush’s chief of staff, clarified that normally first ladies would only wear custom dresses to avoid this embarrassing fashion faux pas. She went on to explain “... you can understand why they have to have things done just for them, particularly for state dinners or Kennedy Center Honors or things overseas. You can understand the need for the outfit to be unique.”. Luckily all parties were able to laugh about the situation...

When the Vogue cover of Vice President Kamala Harris was released people were not impressed by the photograph. For the cover shoot Kamala wore what was described in The New York Times as “a dark jacket by Donald Deal, skinny pants, Converse and her trademark pearls.”. Social media was not impressed and many expressed how they felt the outfit didn’t convey her position of power. One author wrote in a Washington Post article “...in a world where strong Black women are often maligned as intimidating and unfeminine, the image Vogue chose reduced Harris just as she is taking her rightful place at the heights of American power.”. Due to the backlash an alternate cover was released where Kamala Harris posed in a blue Michael Kors pantsuit with an American Flag pin. The alternate cover was better received by the public, but the other cover was still widely talked about in the media. People also cited this as evidence that Vogue editor in chief, Anna Wintour, continues to not be inclusive towar...

For the 2021 Met Gala, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore a white gown that had “Tax the Rich” painted on the back. A bold statement such as this created a lot of controversy on social media and throughout new outlets. Different headlines the next day read “Why A.O.C. 's Met Gala Dress Made People Mad”, “The Controversy Over AOC’s ‘Tax the Rich’ dress”, and “AOC ripped for attending Met Gala in ‘Tax the Rich’ dress”.  On social media people were divided as some supported her bold message while others felt it was obnoxious and not the proper setting. Later two Conservative groups filed ethical complaints against Ocasio-Cortez citing that “she flouted House rules…”, according to the New York Post. They also cited that the gown was an “impermissible gift” because she didn’t pay for it. After the complaint was filed though Ocasio-Cortez did pay for the gown and additional service but news outlets still circulated the story. Ocasio-Cortez defended her choice to wear the gown by stating “Ulti...