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The mission of Tolerance.org is to help teachers and schools educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy.
Jeff wrote for Tolerance.org for 7 years and, during this time at The Southern Poverty Law Center, Tolerance.org won The Webby for Best Activist Site on the Internet.
Grandmother of 6: Media Portrayals of Gender in Politics
February 4, 2007 | This lesson invites students to look critically at the way women and men present themselves in the political arena. Students will take a critical look at the photographs and written text in the websites of several male and female politicians.
Grade Level: 9-12
By Jeff Sapp | Curriculum Specialist/Writer, Teachingtolerance.org
OBJECTIVES:
TIME AND MATERIALS:
INTRODUCTION
When Nancy Pelosi was elected as Speaker of the House, a local Washington newspaper described her as a "grandmother of 6." On the other hand, Harry Reid, who had also just been elected as the new Senate leader, was described as the "son of a hard-rock miner." Newspapers failed to mention that Reid is the grandfather of 16. They also failed to mention that Pelosi, the daughter of a Baltimore mayor, is a 20-year veteran of Congress, which probably had more to do with her success in politics than being the grandmother of 6. The reality is that although there are many fathers and grandfathers in politics, the media rarely mentions this in news coverage. Why are there double standards when it comes to the way we look at men and women in politics? And what are those double standards? Is the media solely responsible for the way we see men and women differently, or do candidates self-promote gendered and sexist presentations of themselves? As mentioned above, media often represents genders differently. What are candidates' responsibilities in feeding into the greater societal expectations regarding their gender? The following lesson plan contains two activities. The first explores the visual images on each political candidate’s website. The second activity deconstructs the "About" section written about each candidate on their homepage.
STEP ONE:
Divide students into six groups and assign one of the following suggested politicians to each group. Since the politicians listed below are from the year 2007, replace them with contemporary male and female politicians and you’ll see eerily similar findings.
Have students explore the websites (if websites are no longer available, have students use Google Images to find photographs of the politicians or, as mentioned above, use contemporary politicians and their social media platforms) with the following questions guiding them:
STEP TWO:
Each of the sites have an "About" section that describes the politician. I’ve included the original “About” section from the 6 politicians listed in this original lesson plan from 2007 and these “About” sections are directly taken from their campaign websites. Have students answer the following questions:
STEP THREE:
Have each group of students share their information with the class. Have them look for the differences in the way that the men and women presented themselves on their websites. Focus the discussion on the following questions:
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY:
For an interesting local follow-up to this lesson, have students begin to cut out the local newspaper headlines regarding any local male or female politician. Place them on a poster or bulletin board in the classroom. As they bring in more and more, have them draw generalizations regarding the headlines, the topics and the ways female and male politicians are presented and reported about in the local media. If there are dramatic differences in the way gender impacts the reporting on local political life, have students write to the local media and tell them what they’ve learned. Or have local media come into the classroom and discuss this with the students.
“ABOUT” SECTIONS:
"About" Hillary Clinton
Hillary was raised in a middle-class family in the middle of America. From that classic suburban childhood in Park Ridge, Illinois, Hillary went on to become one of America's foremost advocates for children and families; an attorney twice voted one of the most influential in America; a First Lady of Arkansas who helped transform the schools; a bestselling author; a First Lady for America who helped transform that role, becoming a champion for health care and families at home and a champion of women's rights and human rights around the world. Since her path-breaking election to the United States Senate, Hillary has been a steadfast advocate for middle-class families, working to help create jobs, expand children's health care and protect Social Security from privatization. As the Senator representing New York after 9/11, Hillary has fought to strengthen our approach to homeland security and to improve our communications and intelligence operations. As the first New Yorker ever named to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hillary has been a tough critic of the administration's bungling of Iraq and a fierce advocate for proper equipment, health benefits, and treatment for military families.
From Senator Hillary Clinton’s 2007 Homepage
"About" John McCain
U.S. Senator John McCain has a long career of public service. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1958, John McCain began his career as a Naval aviator. In 1982, he was elected to Congress representing what was then the first congressional district of Arizona. In 1986, he was elected to the United States Senate to take the place of Arizona's great Senator Barry Goldwater. Senator McCain is currently the senior senator from Arizona. In 2000, Senator McCain ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. He is currently the Ranking Member of the Senate’Committee on Armed Services. He also serves on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Senator McCain has seven children and four grandchildren. He and his wife, Cindy, reside in Phoenix.
From Senator John McCain’s 2007 Homepage
"About" Barack Obama
Barack Obama has dedicated his life to public service as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, and leader in the Illinois state Senate. Obama now continues his fight for working families following his recent election to the United States Senate. Sworn into office January 4, 2005, Senator Obama is focused on promoting economic growth and bringing good paying jobs to Illinois. Obama serves on the important Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees legislation and funding for the environment and public works projects throughout the country, including the national transportation bill. He also serves on the Veterans ‘ Affairs Committee where he is focused on investigating the disability pay discrepancies that have left thousands of Illinois veterans without the benefits they earned. Senator Obama also serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. During his seven years in the Illinois state Senate, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. Obama also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education, and after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Senator Obama enlisted the support of law enforcement officials to draft legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases. Obama is especially proud of being a husband and father of two daughters, Malia, 8 and Sasha, 4. Obama and his wife, Michelle, married in 1992 and live on Chicago ‘s South Side where they attend Trinity United Church of Christ. Barack Obama was born on August 4th, 1961, in Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. and Ann Dunham. Obama graduated from Columbia University in 1983, and moved to Chicago in 1985 to work for a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment. In 1991, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review.
From Senator Barack Obama’s 2007 Homepage
"About" Nancy Pelosi
Since 1987, Nancy Pelosi has represented California's Eighth District in the House of Representatives. The Eighth District includes most of the City of San Francisco including Golden Gate Park, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, and many of the diverse neighborhoods that make San Francisco a vibrant and prosperous community, Overwhelmingly elected by her colleagues in the fall of 2002 as Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi is the first woman in American history to lead a major party in the U.S. Congress. Before being elected Leader, she served as House Democratic Whip for one year and was responsible for the party's legislative strategy in the House. On January 4, 2007, Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, Pelosi fought for America's families. She has been a leader in increasing educational opportunity, protecting workers, and promoting health care, including women's health and the creation of a nationwide health tracking network to examine the links between environmental pollutants and chronic disease. She has been a strong proponent of increased investments in health research, and has secured funding to double the budget for the National Institutes of Health. Pelosi also has successfully defeated repeated attempts to reduce funding for international family planning programs. One of Pelosi's first legislative victories was the creation of the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS program. She has also worked to accelerate development of an HIV vaccine, expand access to Medicaid for people living with HIV, and increase funding for the Ryan White CARE Act, the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative and other programs vital to people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS. Pelosi also successfully increased access to health insurance for people with disabilities by ensuring continuation of their health care coverage. She was instrumental in passing legislation to assist nonprofit organizations in the creation of affordable housing. As a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for 10 years (the longest continuous period of service in the committee's history) including two years as the Ranking Democrat, Pelosi worked to ensure that policymakers and military commanders are provided with the timely and accurate intelligence necessary to guide diplomatic initiatives, succeed in combat, and protect U.S. military forces. In meetings around the world with U.S. and foreign intelligence leaders, Pelosi has urged for greater attention to the threats to international security posed by the proliferation of technologies associated with the weapons of mass destruction and global terrorism. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Pelosi led congressional reviews of the U.S. intelligence and security agencies and authored legislation to create an independent national commission to assess the overall performance of the federal government before, during, and after the attacks. Pelosi has long been an advocate for human rights around the world. She has fought to improve China's human rights record, attempting to tie trade to increased human rights standards. She has also been a leader on efforts to free the people of Tibet. A leader on the environment at home and abroad, Pelosi secured passage of a provision in the International Development and Finance Act of 1989 which requires the World Bank and all the regional multilateral development banks to review the potential environmental impacts of development projects for which they provide funding and to make these environmental assessments publicly available. Known as the "Pelosi Amendment," it has become a significant tool for indigenous, nongovernmental organizations around the world. Pelosi has also served on the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics) and the Banking and Financial Services Committee. She has chaired the Congressional Working Group on China and has served on the Executive Committee of the Democratic Study Group. Pelosi hails from a strong family tradition of public service. Her father, Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr., served as Mayor of Baltimore for 12 years, after representing the city for five terms in Congress. Her brother, Thomas D'Alesandro III, also served as Mayor of Baltimore. Pelosi graduated from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. in 1962. Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi, a native of San Francisco, have five children: Nancy Corinne, Christine, Jacqueline, Paul and Alexandra, and six grandchildren.
From Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s 2007 Homepage
"About" Arnold Schwarzenegger
The world knows Arnold Schwarzenegger as a famous bodybuilder and a Hollywood action hero, but he is also a successful businessman, generous philanthropist and California's 38th Governor. Since he took office, Governor Schwarzenegger's responsible fiscal policies have brought California back from the brink of bankruptcy, reinvigorating the economy, creating a better environment for business and creating more than 680,000 new jobs. Improved state revenues have paid down the state's debt and afforded record investments in schools, roads and affordable healthcare for children. Governor Schwarzenegger's most notable accomplishments include a bipartisan agreement to reduce California's greenhouse gas emissions by signing landmark legislation in 2006, increasing the minimum wage while lowering the state's unemployment rate and overhauling the workers' compensation system - cutting costs by more than 35 percent. In addition, Governor Schwarzenegger is the first governor in decades to make major investments in improving California's aging infrastructure through his Strategic Growth Plan, helping to reduce congestion and clean the air. He established the Hydrogen Highway and Million Solar Roofs Plan, continuing his leadership in creating a greener environment. As Governor, he has been California's most effective marketing tool, traveling across the country and around the world promoting California grown products, cutting edge technologies and the state's diverse travel destinations. In addition, using his background as an internationally recognized athlete, Governor Schwarzenegger has made restoring health and fitness a top priority. He signed legislation making the state's school nutrition standards the most progressive in the nation and continues to promote healthy habits. This world-famous athlete and actor was born in Austria in 1947, and at 20 became the youngest person ever to win the Mr. Universe title. He came to America shortly after, winning an unprecedented 12 more world bodybuilding titles. Challenging both his body and mind, he earned a college degree from the University of Wisconsin and became a U.S. citizen in 1983. Three years later he married broadcast journalist Maria Shriver. Governor Schwarzenegger's most gratifying accomplishments are rooted in public service - committing his time, energy and personal finances to charitable organizations around the world. He and Maria have remained closely involved in Special Olympics, an organization founded by Maria's mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. He was named Special Olympics International Weight Training Coach in 1979 and serves as a Global Ambassador. Recognizing his passion for helping kids, former President George Bush appointed Governor Schwarzenegger Chair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in 1990, where he traveled all 50 states and recognized the overwhelming need for more after-school alternatives. He also served as Chair of the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson. Governor Schwarzenegger has committed himself to promoting physical education and after-school programs. In 2002, his support for Proposition 49, the After-School Education & Safety Act, led it to overwhelming victory. As Governor, he has aggressively worked to increase after-school funding, making California the first state in the nation to significantly invest in a comprehensive after-school program. His many accomplishments have earned him the praise of numerous organizations, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center's "National Leadership Award" for his support of the organization's Holocaust studies. Schwarzenegger was the only actor to be in both categories of the American Film Institutes Hundred Years of Heroes and Villains. In 2002, Schwarzenegger was given the esteemed honor of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award, presented to him by Ali, a longtime friend and sports mentor. Governor Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver have four children - Katherine, Christina, Patrick and Christopher.
From Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2007 Homepage
"About" Sarah Palin
Sarah's parents arrived in Alaska in 1964 to teach school in Skagway. After moving to the Valley and graduating from Wasilla High, Sarah earned her Journalism degree from the University of Idaho. She worked in media and the utility industry before beginning her public service 14 years ago. Sarah was elected to two terms on the Wasilla City Council, and then two terms as the Mayor / Manager of Alaska's fastest growing community. During her tenure as Mayor she reduced property tax levels while increasing services and made Wasilla a business friendly environment drawing in new industry. The responsibility of managing dozens of employees including a growing police department and public works department, and overseeing the multimillion dollar capital and operating budgets provided her with hands-on, 21st Century relevant administrative experience. Sarah's demonstrated leadership was also recognized when she was elected by her mayoral peers as President of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. In this role, she worked with local, state and federal officials to promote solutions to the needs of Alaska's communities. Sarah served as Chairman of Alaska's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates Alaska's most valuable non-renewable resources: oil and gas. She also served on the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. Sarah was named one of Alaska's "Top 40 Under 40", Alaska's Public Works "Person of the Year," and was recently inducted into the Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society at Alaska Pacific University. Married to the three-time champion of the world's longest snow machine race (the Iron Dog), Sarah's husband is also a lifelong Alaskan and is a production operator on the North Slope. Todd and Sarah commercial fish together in Bristol Bay, being joined at their sites with their kids: Track, Bristol, Willow, and Piper. The state's Alaska Native heritage plays an important role in the life of this family. Sarah is currently an elected board member of Valley Hospital, has served on numerous boards and commissions throughout the State, and stays active as a marathon runner, sports team mom, hockey manager and school volunteer. Sarah's a lifetime member of the NRA and enjoys hunting, fishing, Alaska history, and all that Alaska's great outdoors has to offer.
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