Back in the Bush years, it was in vogue for candidates to challenge each others’ American-ness and patriotism. These days, candidates everywhere are challenging their opponents masculinity. This micro-trend wouldn’t be so odd if it weren’t for the fact that female candidates have been among those telling their opponents to hitch up their skirt and grow a pair.
In August, Sarah Palin famously accused President Obama of not having “cojones,” apparently unaware that she is without that dingly-dangly courage-center herself. In so doing, she seems to have set off a wave of post-feminist, post-logical attacks, wherein female republicans accuse their opponents of not being manly enough.
Last night, Sharron Angle, the republican senate candidate, in an obviously scripted debate response, told her opponent, democrat Harry Reid, to “man up”:
Read Amanda Hess’ great post, “How Sexist Attacks on Male Candidates Hurt Women“