Tagged: Sarah Palin

Political & Economic Sociology

Healthcare Reform and "Emotional Economics"

by esminihan Debate over health care reform in the United States can be approached from various theoretical frameworks.  Economists tend to frame arguments for government intervention on the “externalities” associated with health care, or, the benefits to society as a whole that are not captured in the market.  These externalities range in nature from what could be considered practical (lower rates of communicable disease, greater mobility in the labour market) to emotional (feelings of satisfaction that members of society are...

Gender & Sexuality / Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Culture

"Pretty" enough to run for office?

A recent psychology study (see below) at Northwestern University reveals that one reason that we look for female political candidates to be “attractive” is due to human instincts for “mate selection.”  The authors of the study assert that these judgements about the attractiveness of a female candidate occur unconsciously, therefore insinuating that a) mate selection is transhistorical and is based on modern standards of attraction, b) mate selection is heteronormatively essentialized and c) male preferences and instincts are human instincts,...

Gender & Sexuality / Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Media & Communication

Yeah, it's a double standard…but do we have to tell?

by dsantore On Thursday, September 25, “CBS Evening News” broadcast a conversation between anchor Katie Couric and Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.  The interview would soon become the stuff of internet and TV legend.  By now most of us are familiar with Governor Palin’s musings on Alaska’s proximity to Russia, on “The Bush Doctrine,” and other topics.  The broadcast, like Palin’s ABC News interview that preceded it, will be remembered most for exposing the Vice-Presidential candidate’s wet-behind-the-ears entrance into national...