Um, I have thoughts. Gimme a minute. https://twitter.com/ellemagazine/status/1316253877088456704

I’m irked by this, not just for the obvious reasons. But for laziness of the assertions within. Let’s start with:

“With her choices, Obama moved the needle, proving it’s possible to be a woman of substance and intelligence and still love style.”

This did not need proving.

“Now we have a vice-presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, who wields fashion choices like weapons in her arsenal.”

She has bigger weapons.

“With vivid color palettes, simple tailoring, and bold lip colors, women in politics are establishing a nontraditional power look that unabashedly embraces fashion—a realm once viewed as synonymous with a lack of seriousness.”

Bold lip colors aren’t power. Power is.

“Now that C-SPAN is the new MTV, lawmakers are the new celebrities.”

CSPAN is not the new MTV, and stop feeding into this. Lawmakers are public servants, not celebrities. Do you see who’s in the White House currently??

If we want to acknowledge women in politics embracing high fashion, great. But let’s not pretend that fashion choices replace real power or influence. Or, that they add something that hard-working women didn’t already have. Or that governing is better when women look good. Fin.