Read on Twitter
OK, so. I couldn't help myself and did a count of the overruns.
Keep in mind this is based on our initial quick and dirty transcript BUT my initial count:
Pence's overruns totaled somewhere around 748 words.
Harris's: 390 words.
Keep in mind this is based on our initial quick and dirty transcript BUT my initial count:
Pence's overruns totaled somewhere around 748 words.
Harris's: 390 words.
To be clear, this is based on me going over our transcript and counting the instances where Susan Page tried to interrupt and the speakers kept going. It DOESN'T include anything after Page said "Ok 15 seconds" or something like that.
Again: this is based on very quickly established criteria (established by me) but it at least gives a first stab at showing an unevenness that showed up on stage tonight.
I do not know if I will be doing a full post on this tomorrow, but to me what I saw gender-wise:
1) Harris asked for time, while Pence took it.
2) Harris seemed to get a little more comfortable overrunning as time went on.
3) She smiled more than him...which...
1) Harris asked for time, while Pence took it.
2) Harris seemed to get a little more comfortable overrunning as time went on.
3) She smiled more than him...which...
maybe i was just watching for, but we know from a study of Clinton-Trump debates, people react VERY DIFFERENTLY to a woman smiling on a debate stage than a man. https://www.npr.org/2020/10/03/919093731/how-gender-shapes-presidential-debates-including-between-two-men
One additional point of course:
One additional point of course:
Do gender dynamics on a debate stage affect people's lives directly? No. Policies they talked about like climate change and abortion and healthcare have a real impact on the lives of women (and men) watching.
BUT.
BUT.
I could say this a million times. Cis men (overwhelllmingly white) have dominated debate stages for forever, so those men have set the norms.
Tonight we saw Pence totally comfortable steamrolling. Harris did so less often.
She is working on a playing field not created by people who look like her, and it's impossible to unspool all the ways that might play out.
She is working on a playing field not created by people who look like her, and it's impossible to unspool all the ways that might play out.
(I am very eager to see more partisan reversals, btw -- GOP woman and Dem man, or even two women)
Anyway to the extent this affects who gets elected -- and debates do affect some voters' choices -- well...it ends up affecting policy.
OK done. /fin
OK done. /fin
OK PS go ahead and read my piece from the last debate about gender. https://www.npr.org/2020/10/03/919093731/how-gender-shapes-presidential-debates-including-between-two-men
OK one more thing -- I stressed gender here but i should add (and should have stressed more) that separating race AND gender from each other is impossible here. Race also plays an incalculable role.
OK seriously bed.
OK seriously bed.
