“Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?”
“Such a nasty woman.”
“I never liked Horseface.”
For female elected officials and political candidates, misogyny is alive and well in American politics. It’s a persistent, appalling and disgusting reality. And unfortunately, it has become normalized in our society.
Never mind policies and positions. Female elected officials are disproportionately harassed for their clothing, race, sexuality, body, laugh, weight and more compared to our male counterparts. The most common example of this misogynistic behavior and rhetoric is on the national stage, exposing Americans to it every day. Some may think it’s theatrics. Some may think it’s our former president being tough or funny . Some may think it’s an isolated issue between the two current presidential candidates.
And worse — some may think it’s acceptable.
On a Sunday in August, I picked up my city-issued cell phone to read emails and respond to constituent mail. What I found in my inbox that morning was the local manifestation of the national objectification of female elected officials and candidates, and misogynistic rhetoric perpetuated by our former president.
The unprovoked message from a man in the community had very few words. Pasted into the body of the email was an image of an overweight man in tactical gear with soda, candy and fast food shoved into his pockets, belt and pants. The accompanying text said: “Does Adler have a brother?” That was it.
In that moment, I became another statistic. I am not the first female to be insulted solely on my physical appearance, or to have struggled with their weight, and I won’t be the last. I know what I signed up for. Public scrutiny is part of the job.
But as someone who has frequently found themselves the youngest person in important rooms, I often wonder why more Millennial and Gen Z women don’t want to run for office or get involved in the political process. When people in our community think it’s fair game to lob hateful personal attacks at women engaged in this arena — why would they?
In May 2024, Cosmopolitan Magazine and Pivotal Ventures published results of their joint poll examining the challenges women face running for and getting elected to public office. Not shocking, 54% of the 2,100 female respondents age 18 and over believe that sexism is the most significant barrier to success as a female elected official.
I found Gen Z’s responses to the poll the most thought-provoking and honest. After all, Gen Z is the generation that has been chronically online since day one — and as Cosmopolitan points out — is all too familiar with the way the country treats women. According to Cosmopolitan, 40% of Gen Z women say threats of physical safety are a problem for women in elected office. The results also showed that a majority of Gen Z women respondents found that misogyny and political violence could be a deal-breaker when considering running for office themselves. One-third believe they’d personally face physical or psychological threats if they were elected to local office.
My own experience and the Cosmopolitan survey show the appalling behavior and treatment towards women is not isolated to the highest levels of government. Sexism and misogyny is happening right here in Pierce County. It’s happening to women in your life that you love and care about. It’s happening to your mother, wife, daughter, granddaughter and neighbor.
This behavior is hindering women of all ages to get involved in the political process during a time where the electorate is craving younger leaders with new ideas . We cannot expect younger generations of women to step up and get involved if something doesn’t change.
What female elected officials and candidates need are others to join us in standing up and speaking out against misogynistic behavior. Let’s amplify encouragement and praise for women of all ages on both sides of the aisle. We must ensure women leaders feel supported in their elected positions and not predicated on their physical looks. Running and getting elected as a woman should be a positive experience.
Let’s show respect to our female leaders and defend their right to be in the arena.
Lauren Adler, a third-generation Puyallup resident, was elected to the Puyallup City Council in November 2023. Lauren is the youngest member of the current City Council and represents District 1.
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