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
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 8, 2025Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - trade wars, healthcare costs, and more
-
Marbled tea eggs recipeThe Week Recommends With a beautiful exterior, these eggs are also marked by their soft yolk
-
The Washington Post: kowtowing to Trump?Talking Point The newspaper's opinion editor has handed in his notice following edict from Jeff Bezos
-
Trump eases Mexico, Canada tariffs again as markets slidespeed read The president suspended some of the 25% tariffs he imposed on Mexican and Canadian imports
-
Trump tells Cabinet they are in charge of layoffs, not MuskSpeed Read The White House has faced mounting complaints about DOGE's sweeping cuts
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining HouseSpeed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharingSpeed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freezeSpeed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
-
Trump touts early wins in partisan speech to CongressSpeed Read The president said he is 'just getting started' with his sweeping changes to immigration, the economy and foreign policy
-
Trudeau blasts Trump's 'very dumb' trade warSpeed Read Retaliatory measures have been announced by America's largest trading partners following Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
-
Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after public spatSpeed Read Trump and J.D. Vance berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy for what they saw as insufficient gratitude
