Women in Politics in Media and Pop Culture

Our conversation on the first day of class got me thinking about the portrayals of political women in pop culture. Immediately I thought of one of my favorite shows: Parks and Recreation and the character of Leslie Knope who represents an overeager, sometimes frivolous but overall positive woman in a political position. I decided to do some research about the portrayal of women in other TV shows and movies. A common theme that I came across was the use of the word "sexy." This one interesting article that I found (http://www.policymic.com/articles/57149/women-in-politics-just-can-t-catch-a-break-even-in-made-for-tv-movies) discusses an upcoming mini-series about Hilary Clinton. The author blames the media for attributing emphasis on the physical appearance of women during a campaign rather than the issues.