The Double Standard of Appearance

Throughout the election season, there were plenty of articles judging Hillary Clinton’s outfits. You might have seen pictures comparing Hillary Clinton’s outfits to Kim Jong-Un. Feminists responded to these articles and pictures by calling them sexist. They said that the articles held double standards; a male presidential candidate is not judged for how he dresses, while a woman candidate’s appearance could impact the election. The whole idea that they put forth is that there is a double standard between men in power and women and power. I firmly believe that women should not be torn apart for their appearance.

Recently, President Trump and his wife, Melania, visited Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Vatican City. Melania Trump’s outfits have repeatedly been written about for being “too controversial” or “too showy.” This is not new news, though. Ever since Melania Trump has been on the campaign trail, her outfits have been deemed too expensive in some cases and showing too much cleavage. Similarly, Michelle Obama’s appearance was judged when she was First Lady, including comments by none other than Donald Trump about her outfit in Saudi Arabia. News organizations and politicians should not be tearing women down because of their appearance, whether it is Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama or Melania Trump.

This double standard of judging women on their appearance applies to women in both political parties, and it needs to end. There are such horrid events taking place in the world; these journalists should take their time and energy and put it into solving these problems rather than writing about whether or not Melania’s dress was fitting for an event.