This interests me a lot. Here’s an image of Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts. Someone obviously wants her to run for Congress. Here’s the ad they’ve put out:
Stern visage, granny glasses, boyish hair. All buttoned up. Whether her handlers intend it or not, she reminds me of none other than Carrie Nation, the famous temperance crusader:
On one hand, nothing frivolous about it: no blow-dried pretty girl stuff going on there. On the other hand, not a welcoming image. Not a relational expression, and because she looks quite grimly determined, she does not seem vibrant or energized. She looks like a throwback to the Victorian Era, in fact.
Here’s Elizabeth Warren again. I should have said earlier that I think she’s awesome and I loved her book, The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke. Look how much more approachable and human she looks here :
If I was consulting with Warren I would insist that we find an image with a more confident gaze, as I think her expression is a bit deer-in-the-headlights for a confident leader, but they’re definitely on the right track there.
See how unbelievably different an image we project through choosing wisely from among photo images?
Seriously. Carrie looks warm and cuddly compared to Elizabeth #1.
I think women in power do this on purpose to be taken seriously. Sarah Palin who was a beauty queen wears her hair in a slightly severe fashion for the same reasons. Politics is a very conservative profession eventually this will change.
Oh, I love this photo of Elizabeth Warren! I think it was a good choice for the campaign image. She looks focused, authoritative, purposeful and very well groomed. I don’t like the photo of her in the blue shirt. She looks like a soccer mom in that one. [Good point — the second one does look a bit too softy and momsy. It would be good if they could find an image a bit more in-between the two though, I think. That neckline and squint have got to go.- PB]
I must say I like the first picture more. It has a visionary and determined feel to it.
The picture probably says more about the person who chose it than it does about Warren.
If you think that the folks in congress have been behaving poorly disciplined children this summer then you might want a old fashioned school-marm to go in a straighten them out.
Stern visage, granny glasses, boyish hair. All buttoned up. Whether her UUA (mis)handlers intend it or not, UUA Moderator Gini Courter reminds me of none other than Carrie Nation, the famous temperance crusader. . . 🙂
The problem is that Scott Brown has this “Graduate School” young, cool image (“Yeah, I run half marathons”) and people will run, not walk, from a woman who looks like Mommy Might Yell at Me. As clergy we know that people hear the words we say differently when they are spoken in a treble key. I’m not unhappy about it, but I am aware of it.
In the first photo, she looks like she’s smelling something nasty. In the second photo, lose the “deer in the headlights” look, add a strand of pearls and voila! she’d look polished & confident and much more approachable.
Speaking of political images, have you seen the full length photos of Michelle Bachmann at the Iowa debates and in this week’s issue of Newsweek? She’s wearing power suits but pairing them with these awful strappy sandals that are too casual and shorten her legs. Someone should tell her that the only shoe appropriate for a power suit is an elegant pump.
Given Scott Brown’s vaguely frat boy image, I get that she’s trying to look like a grownup, but you’re right that she’s taking it too far.
I had the same reaction as Gina this week to the Newsweek photos of Bachmann. It was similar to my reaction a few weeks ago to her choice of kitten-heel slides with her campaign suit.
This week’s issue of Newsweek has a column discussing both male and female candidates’ apparel. I’m fascinated with that discussion now in a whole new way, as a BTFM reader.
Here’s that article to which I think Jane referred: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/08/07/mitt-romney-michele-bachmann-s-casual-friday-fashion.html
I’d love to hear reflections on this, and whether politicians’ move toward a more casual aesthetic means that clergy should as well, or if we are to remain more conservative. Are they undermining the professionalism of the office by dressing casually, or simply going with the times?
I looked at the Newsweek article. Main thing that bothers me is why they have photos of Romney and Obama and not Ms. Bachmann. In any case I think perhaps the sundresses and and dangly earrings are partially because it’s summer and hot out there and because being a woman makes her stand out in a crowded field, but a woman in feminine looking attire stands out more than a woman in a navy blue pantsuit standing with a line of men in navy blue suits.
I so wish she would schedule a consult with you. You have the gift.
Did anybody else get the email from Emily’s List today or yesterday, about drafting Elizabeth Warren for Senate? I deleted it after signing the petition, but I recall the photo being an excellent one, more approachable than #1 in PB’s post, but more authoritative than #2.