The Daily Show meticulously tackles political sexism and the Hillary Clinton question

(Image credit: Daily Show)

Jon Stewart certainly isn't the first person to argue that the media treats Hillary Clinton differently than male presidential possibles — Exhibit A being the mini kerfuffle over how daughter Chelsea Clinton's pregnancy will affect the 2016 race. But on Tuesday night's Daily Show, Stewart used that pretty glaring double standard merely as the entry point for a deep dive into sexism in politics.

He had a lot of material to work with. But instead of just pointing out the numerous times female politicians have been called emotionally volatile, chatty, or otherwise unserious, Stewart spent much of his show noting the ways that prominent male politicians are given a pass, or even rewarded, for crying, sniping cattily, carefully grooming themselves, and exhibiting other behaviors frequently (and negatively, often unfairly) attributed to their female colleagues. The moral of the lecture, Stewart said — and I'm artlessly, but cleanly, paraphrasing here — is that in politics it's alright to be a wuss as long as you've got a Y chromosome. --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.