Sexism In Politics

Though women take up 51% of America’s population, we have not yet elected our first female president or moved past the low percentage of women officeholders. In Congress, women only hold 19% of the seats and 20% for the Senate. Women struggle to obtain especially the executive office and gender trait stereotyping plays a big role in such matter. From A Room at a Time: How Women Entered Party Politics, it mentions the comparison of women in politics and women in marriage. When women enter the political field, they expect to be treated equally as party men, similar in a marriage where duties and roles of husband and wife differ but their contributions are important. However, in reality, men still hold more power and make all the important
The Declaration of Independence stated that “all men are created equal” and unfortunately, Americans has taken it in the literal sense. Whether unconsciously or intentionally, for centuries women are deemed incapable of achieving the same level of achievements as men, which in this case being elected as president and lead America. They struggle to stray away from the gender stereotypes as they face prejudice in their career and during elections, where criticism comes from both male politicians and citizens. With the low percentages of women in the Congressional and Senate seats, it is obvious that men still dominate in politics and will continue to do so, because they do not want women to surpass and play a big role in the government. However, male politicians aren’t the only ones that are biased toward women in politics. Citizens, especially voters, are also biased when it comes to choosing their representatives in the government. Similar to the overall view, the idea of women being in control and elected to the executive office does not appeal to the general population of voters. The belief of women having lesser ability to deal with issues on a “man’s level” due to their feminine characteristics has deeply embedded in the minds of Americans. One example that demonstrates this is the catchphrase, “make me a sandwich”, that was popularized in 2012. This sexist expression is mainly used by males to mock women and to indicate that they belonged in the kitchen. Furthermore, they are being looked down upon as they are considered submissive and lenient compared to men’s dominance and stubbornness. They are believed to be more emotional and will easily break under pressure. Another way of viewing this issue is the fault in our fixed ideology of male supremacy in this country. Women are seen as