2010-06-10
Gender in Sex Scandals: Are Women Treated Differently?
We haven't written about the South Carolina Gubernatorial race on this site, nor have we really discussed it too heavily behind the scenes. And with any luck, we can keep it that way for a little longer. Not because this race isn't deserving of attention, because it is. The thing is that I'd rather talk about the impact of a sex scandal on male candidates versus that on female candidates.
In South Carolina, Nikki Haley narrowly missed the 50% margin to secure the Republican nomination, forcing a runoff with Congressman Gresham Barrett. Conservative bloggers have accused Haley of having cheated on her husband of 15 years and Barrett isn't exactly helping the campaign stay focused on the issues, either. Yet, despite this, Haley has won the support of the Washington establishment, including figures like Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney. With this scandal in mind, it might seem ironic that even Jenny Sanford (the Governor's ex-wife) has endorsed Haley when Mark Sanford utterly humiliated her and her family with a sex scandal of his own. It's also odd that so many establishment Republicans are rallying around her in light of the scandal when they were just humiliated by Mark Souder, Sanford, Craig, and Foley (to name a few).
But what do Souder, Sanford, Craig, and Foley have that Haley doesn't have?
Okay, let me rephrase that question.
What do Souder, Sanford, Craig, and Foley have in common? They're men. And Nikki Haley is a woman.
Granted, some of this might be the legitimacy of the attack against Haley. Personally, I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt and I don't think she's guilty of cheating on her husband. But that's not the point. If Haley was a man, I suspect the response of the big wigs in the GOP would be considerably different simply to avoid the discussion of another sex scandal in the media.
Is this because of gender?
I would like to know your thoughts on this topic. Forget names and campaigns. Is a female cheating on her husband (mildly) less offensive to your conscience than a male cheating on his wife?
What the heck! Maybe this will spark discussion, too. For those of you who live in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, or Washington, D.C., is a woman cheating on her wife less offensive than a man cheating on his husband? Or any combination thereof.
