Jen ([info]sunspeck) wrote in [info]feminist_101,
@ 2008-02-17 08:17:00
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Use of titles
In recent political news, I heard an interview with a voter that was perturbed by the use of the media sometimes referring to Hillary Clinton as "Mrs. Clinton" as opposed to "Senator Clinton", and the voter being interviewed referred to this as "sexist".

I've thought about this quite a bit. I can understand that it may be improper to refer Senator Clinton as "Mrs. Clinton", because she is a sitting senator, but is there a ranking to honorifics? And is the use of one over the other "sexist"?

I think about this in contrast to the media treatment of Ron Paul, who is a doctor, and is rarely referred to as "Doctor", "Representative", or even "Mr.," and I wonder about the difference between the two scenarios. I doubt that anyone would refer to the treatment of Dr. Paul as sexist.

If someone could help me to understand this issue, I would be most appreciative.

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[info]fshk
2008-02-17 04:03 pm UTC (link)
I think "Senator Clinton" is more proper. Calling her "Mrs." is a little dismissive.

I have a bigger problem with first-naming. She gets called Hillary in the media a lot, but everyone else is referred to by their last names. Calling her by her first name when everyone else gets a proper title implies that she's not taken as seriously as the other candidates.

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[info]imperfectmanx
2008-02-17 04:05 pm UTC (link)
I think the Hillary comes from not wanting to confuse her with her husband. Also, I've heard Obama referred to as Barrack a lot. I've always found both first name uses dismissive though.

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[info]fshk
2008-02-17 04:07 pm UTC (link)
It's a bigger problem in news stories where she's called Hillary but everyone else is McCain or Obama or whatever. And, when discussing the race, the context is clear which Clinton is being referred to. At least call her "Hillary Clinton" if you want to avoid ambiguity, you know?

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[info]imperfectmanx
2008-02-17 04:09 pm UTC (link)
I totally agree.

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[info]redstar826
2008-02-17 04:46 pm UTC (link)
If you look at all of Clinton's campaign stuff, she is using just her first name on her signs, bumper stickers, and such. And if you look at her website, it's just her first name being used "Hillary for President," "Join team Hillary, "Help make calls for Hillary," etc. Other than the fact that it's hillaryclinton.com, nowhere else on the main page do you even see her last name. On the other hand, on McCain's website, his name is always written as either "John McCain" or "McCain"

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[info]imperfectmanx
2008-02-17 05:55 pm UTC (link)
You make a good point - it seems that Clinton herself is going for the first name recognition - in that case it seems justified if the media uses it.

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[info]redstar826
2008-02-17 08:26 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, I'm not going to fault the media for using the name she clearly wants to be identified with in this campaign. Now, if she was using "Clinton" on everything and they were calling her "Hillary" I would probably be more annoyed by it.

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[info]imperfectmanx
2008-02-17 04:04 pm UTC (link)
I think I'd feel less offended if they referred to Hillary Clinton simply as Clinton. The problem with not referring to Hillary as Mrs. Clinton seems to take away from her achievements as senator and depicts her more as someone's wife.

I've rarely heard Obama referred to as Mr. Obama rather than Senator Obama (though granted that Mr. doesn't show possession as much as Mrs. does). If you have another designation, either use that or drop the designation. Using a generic Mr., Mrs. strips them of their achievements.

(Besides, I loathe the term "Mrs." I don't see men using a designation that shows their marital status.)

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[info]i_muse
2008-02-18 01:53 am UTC (link)
as confusion goes- they called Bush Jr. "W" a lot to avoid it- it came from his camp so it was OK.
I don't think in this case usinger first name is dismissive, because she set the precedent. I'm sure she and her team have reasons for that.

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