»» Columnists

My Blood Runs Cold: Where Was the Outrage Over Scott Brown In Cosmo?

by Nisha Chittal | 12:08 pm, January 20th, 2010

» 17 comments

By now you’ve heard: Scott Brown, the Lt. Colonel of the Army National Guard, has just been elected to the United States Senate. Oh, also, he posed nude in Cosmo in 1982. And now that this campaign is over, I have to wonder – where was the outrage?

I have yet to find any. But had a woman candidate done the same, it would have cost her the election. No female politician could hope to make it out of a scandal like that.

Michelle Obama faces daily scrutiny from the media on every one of her wardrobe choices. It’s a national controversy every time she bares her arms – imagine if she’d posed even more bare! (I can practically hear Rush Limbaugh‘s tirade already).

Sarah Palin’s background in beauty pageants was constantly mocked during the 2008 campaign, and remains another shot to be aimed at her, another reason why she is taken less seriously as a candidate. “Before Gov. Sarah Palin came flying in from the wilds of Alaska for the Republican convention in St. Paul, there was a lot of sniggering in media rooms and satellite trucks about her beauty queen looks and rustic hobbies, and the suggestion that she was better suited to be a calendar model for a local auto body shop than a holder of the second-highest office in the land,” wrote David Carr in the New York Times in 2008.

She was derided as a dumb beauty queen, but he’s praised as a “hunk.”

Monday night on Fox, the Washington Post’s Sally Quinn said that Brown is a “hunk“ and the fact that he posed “semi-nude” actually “gave him a huge advantage in terms of the public recognition” and that “It made him a recognizable public figure, which he was not before. A lot of women think he’s really cute.”

Gawker has been using Brown’s centerfold image since September. Wonkette dug up the photo in 2007 and it has been circulating in the media ever since. And yet, this man has just been elected to the United States Senate – the fact that he took his clothes off for a magazine didn’t hurt his race one bit, and the media is at fault for brushing it off because he’s a man.

It’s a sharp contrast from how the public – and the media – would have reacted had a woman candidate been in the same situation. One can only imagine how harshly a woman would be judged in the outpouring of blog posts and media coverage after a woman politician’s nude photos were discovered: She’s promiscuous! She’s a slut! She must be hiding other skeletons in her closet! And probably most importantly: the media and blogosphere would no doubt question her very qualifications and fitness for public office.

“Would Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin even be on their town councils if they had posed nude for a men’s magazine? Of course not- the media frenzy would have sunk them, but the press is collectively giggling over Scott Brown’s centerfold,” said Patricia Murphy, Capitol Hill Bureau Chief of Politics Daily.

“But maybe Scott Brown’s success will open the door for Stormy Daniels to be taken more seriously? If it doesn’t disqualify him, it shouldn’t disqualify anyone,” she added.

Remember when Hillary Clinton showed the tiniest bit of cleavage and the media let loose? Even the Washington Post wrote a lengthy essay debating the meaning of the cleavage and what it said about Hillary’s image – and all she did was wear a low-cut top. And Clinton’s pantsuits were the butt of countless jokes on the 2008 campaign trail — the Washington Post said she was “dressed like a solar flare.”

“Google “Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits” and the thousands of pages that come up are an amalgamation of gentle mockery, a modicum of flattery and all-out derision,” the LA Times declared in September 2008.

It’s appalling that the media hasn’t shown more outrage over the now Senator-elect Scott Brown’s actions, where we most certainly know they would do so had it been a woman. But perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised – this kind of sexism has long been rampant in our media system. Sarah Palin’s background in beauty pageants is routinely mocked. And yet, these women faced severe criticism for these choices despite the fact that none did anything as drastic as posing nude in a national women’s magazine.

Where a woman’s very morals and character would be questioned in this situation, Scott Brown is getting a free pass from the media, and the voters that just elected him. He’s a “hunk,” his behavior was charmingly “footloose and carefree.” And meanwhile WaPo’s Quinn lavishes Brown with praise, claiming that posing in Cosmo gave him a huge advantage — you know, because Brown is a “hunk.”

Thanks for standing up for women candidates, Washington Post and the rest of the media. Thanks for nothing.

brown coakley results, brown wins, Coakley, coakley concedes, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton sexism, Massachusetts Senate Race, massachusetts senate race results, Sally Quinn, Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin Sexism, Scott Brown, Scott Brown Cosmo, Scott Brown Cosmopolitan, scott brown massachusetts, Scott Brown naked, Sexism, who is scott brown

felixw

If this is the best you can come up with a Scott Brown hit piece, you really must be desperate.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Joe-Callan/100000200979966 Joe Callan

Well, it actually appears that the outrage is right here. And about a day late.

If I’m not mistaken, people DID report on Senator-Elect Brown’s appearance in Cosmo. (How else would we have known about the story?) In my experience, the media responds to outrage and reports on outrage when the people actually GET outraged. If there’s a lack of public outrage after the media has reported the story, are you saying that it’s up to the media to keep pushing the story in order to *create* public outrage?

Story from September ’09. Newsweek’s “The Gaggle”. Is Newsweek not a big enough name to count?
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2009/09/15/gop-senator-s-racy-pics-don-t-matter-because-he-s-a-dude.aspx

Story from Queerty.com, also in September. Not a big pub, but the story and criticism is there for all to see!
http://www.queerty.com/scott-brown-wants-ted-kennedys-senate-seat-also-he-hates-gays-posed-naked-20090916/

Boston Herald, September.
http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1197778

New York Times, December. “Recognition Woes” in the headline. Is that painting a POSITIVE picture?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/us/politics/10massbrown.html

MSNBC (via AP), December. Though it’s only mentioned, the fact that he posed nude is there.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34263408/ns/politics/

What Brown did was widely reported. So are you really mad at the media for “underplaying it”, or are you mad that the people in his district voted for him anyway?

If you’re *really* claiming that the media didn’t do enough to sway public opinion for a lack of their editorializing on his Cosmo photo shoot, what kind of press and what kind of Democracy are you really promoting?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Joe-Callan/100000200979966 Joe Callan

P.S. No one takes Palin seriously because she has little sense of the world outside Alaska.
sarainitaly

Good point. As someone who despised the attacks on Hillary and Sarah, and continued to point out the sexism in the media, and the vile attacks, (i remember some particularly vile attacks on Carrie Prejean by Olbermann) you make a great point.

The bias is extremely evident – had a female candidate done this there would be outrage, and it wouuld be on tv 24/7 (especially if it was a conservative candidate!). But barely a peep with a male candidate!

FWIW, I don’t think either is a big deal, but the media sure does, in the case of women.

The media freaked out over Carries nipple, and Hillary’s cleavage. Perhaps if you actually could see his *privates* it would be a different story. He was naked, but we can’t see the goods…. Or maybe women are just more evolved than men, and don’t get so excited over a nipple.
sarainitaly

i don’t think this is a Scott Brown hit piece, but a media hit piece.
http://politicoholic.com/ Nisha Chittal

It wasn’t a Scott Brown hit piece, it was a media hit piece.

And yes, I do realize Sarah Palin as a candidate has a lot of other problems. But you can’t deny that she did face sexist treatment.
sarainitaly

i am curious as to what issues people have with her (that aren’t direct impressions stemming from that nasty sexist treatment.)
fanofamerica

It’s true, there is definitely a double standard based on “boys will be boys” and girls should be modest and protect their femininity (speaking strictly here to the topic of posing semi-nude). I think it’s refreshing that society in general doesn’t accept the slut-inization of our girls. What makes MY ‘blood run cold’ is more serious stuff — since it’s Massachusetts we’re talking about, my blood runs cold when I think of a man leaving an unconscious woman to die in a submerged vehicle and then uses the power of his family name to escape punishment and even goes on to be a life long senator. A regular Joe in that situation would probably still be in prison. In a lesser way, my blood also runs cold every time I see the double standard used when a Democrat says something and is given a pass as opposed to the uproar there would be if a Republican uttered the same words.
tdhurst

So, as an irresponsible journalist, you’re now criticizing the media for stirring up controversy because of a lack of controversy?

Who cares?
http://www.sailrabbits.com Magister

It’s not exactly the same, but your piece reminded me of the story about the Fort Myers town manager who was fired because his wife did porn.
the visionary

i agree with you, nisha, overall in that there wasnt much talk about it but it definitely was a turnoff for some. here’s beck today:

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/01/20/mark-levin-vs-glenn-beck-was-scott-browns-joke-about-his-daughters-inappropriate/

there definitely is a double standard and women get bashed for any little thing appearance wise. on the other hand i dont think that means brown’s pictures should be blown out of proportion.
Derek

There are a lot of ways to make fun of and/or criticize politicians. If you want to accuse the media of being sexist, then you shouldn’t ignore the other -isms and other “double standards” that permeate the traditional media practice of lampooning and trashing politicians and public figures.

John Edwards was criticized by the media for his $400 hair cut (before the love child thing came up). If Nancy Pelosi or Hilary Clinton spent this much on a haircut, would this be newsworthy? They’re both rich, so I doubt they get their hair styling done at SuperCuts. But when equally wealthy John Edwards spends a large amount of money on a haircut, people are outraged. They think, “why would a male spend so much money on a haircut?” How is this not sexist against males? How is that not a double standard?

Another example is John McCain’s age. He was the butt of a lot of ageist jokes. Yes, he was older than the typical presidential candidate and his health was a legitimate issue. Despite his health records showing him to be in good health and the fact that when Reagan was running for president, the average American life expectancy was lower than what it is now, people think older Americans are senile and useless, like what Old Man McCain could be if he won the election.

In conclusion, it easy to blame all this scrutinization of Palin and Hilary on sexism, but that’s really disingenuous if you ignore the non-gender related idiosyncracies that these two woman have such as Sarah Palin’s lack of intelligence and Hilary Clinton’s ability to switch on and off a southern accent as well as countless examples of how other politicians are criticized.

Sorry, this article has “gender-card” written all over it.
http://lnsmitheeblog.blogspot.com LNSmithee

Nisha Chittal wrote:

Michelle Obama faces daily scrutiny from the media on every one of her wardrobe choices. It’s a national controversy every time she bares her arms – imagine if she’d posed even more bare! (I can practically hear Rush Limbaugh’s tirade already).

Huh? I listen to Rush regularly, and unlike when Hillary was First Lady, I don’t remember him wasting any time talking about Michelle’s physique.

Regarding Brown: I was fully expecting the desperate Dems to plumb the depths of Brown’s past for irrelevant yet distracting dirty, dirty, dirt. I was waiting for a hastily-arranged press conference with a wronged ex-girlfriend, or drunken spring break fling, or something. Maybe a Boston Globe story similar to the L.A. Times story with women accusing Arnold Schwarzenegger of groping them a week before the his election.

It’s hard for me to believe that the photos in the Cosmo spread are the first and only pics of Brown in a state of undress. Maybe there wasn’t enough time for the others to surface. Or maybe — just maybe, like in the case of Sarah Palin’s one and only time on a pageant stage — the pics were a one-time-only means to an end, and that chapter in Brown’s life ended as soon as it began.
pyrope

I must say that I can truly understand the outrage of Hillary Clinton showing cleavage–the thought of such a sight is ghastly. No wonder Bill has strayed.

Seriously, Ms Chittal is offering up a cheap hit piece on Scott Brown and is (as noted above) definitely playing the ol’ gender card.
ex politicalmedia hack

Seriously, Mr. pyrope is a sexist dumbass whining about a ” cheap hit piece ” at the same time as writing a cheap hit piece/
mediamags

I clicked on this because I thought it must be a joke. Get a grip and get a better idea for a post.
jennielynsan

This is great of the foremost blogs in the area of teaching. If I don’t come in for a couple of days, there are so many stakes that it’ll bring me a couple of hr just to go over whatever I missed!! Congratulations.

Thanks. great wonderful info(information) here keep up Culinary Skills Egg Salad Recipe French Onion Soup Recipe the fabulous work. I cannot really provide a more creative commentary as i’m abit out of my deph but i will be checking back here for further updates.

My Blood Runs Cold: Where Was the Outrage Over Scott Brown In Cosmo?

Tips

Job hunting?

Power Grid