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MPWHillary Clinton

No, Wearing a Pantsuit Does Not Mean You Dress Like a Lesbian

By
Valentina Zarya
Valentina Zarya
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By
Valentina Zarya
Valentina Zarya
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 15, 2016, 3:39 PM ET
Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate In New Hampshire
MANCHESTER, NH - DECEMBER 19: Democratic president candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the debate at Saint Anselm College December 19, 2015 in Manchester, New Hampshire. This is the third Democratic debate featuring Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)Andrew Burton—Getty Images

Here’s a thought: Let’s stop talking about Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits.

A headline in Slate on Friday morning proclaimed that Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton “dresses like a lesbian.” While the article acknowledges that the former First Lady’s “sense of style has been criticized for as long as she has been on the national political scene,” and hedges by saying that she “doesn’t look like every lesbian, of course,” that didn’t stop the Twitterverse from erupting in horror. One reader asked, “What sort of insane misogynist weirdness swept in and told you this was ok?” as others called for the publication to take down its Twitter account.

@Slate @gabrielroth What sort of insane misogynist weirdness swept in and told you this was ok?

— Alexander Chee (@alexanderchee) January 15, 2016

https://twitter.com/theonlyadult/status/688029356174766081

Sign up: Click her to subscribe to the Broadsheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the world’s most powerful women.

One user tweeted Slate asking whether she dressed like a lesbian—pointing out the absurdity of a saying a person dresses “like” they’re homosexual.

Hey @Slate, do I #dresslikealesbian? Dyin to know if it's my attire or that I love women that makes me queer AF. pic.twitter.com/jjDJH77PmQ

— Alana Dickens (@deathtodickens) January 15, 2016

As a straight woman reading the story, it’s hard not to take offense at the assertion that men and lesbians dress “to convey competence, professionalism, and authority rather than attractiveness,” while “only straight women…pay a penalty if they dress without at least half an eye toward making themselves attractive to the opposite sex.” I would argue that people of all genders and sexualities want to look both professional and attractive, sometimes—gasp!—at the same time.

Hillary Clinton isn’t the only presidential candidate who’s been mocked for daring to challenge our sartorial gender stereotypes. Republican contender Marco Rubio earned few snide comments about his height and propensity “high-heeled booties” when he was spotted wearing heeled boots. As one user points out, a headline proclaiming that Marco Rubio dresses like a gay man would probably have stirred up even more controversy.

https://twitter.com/nachofiesta/status/688024463087124481

Women have enough to worry about when trying to dress for work, whether it’s in the corporate world or at Silicon Valley startups. Let’s not drag outdated and irrelevant notions about sexual orientation into it.

So no, Hillary Clinton does not dress like a lesbian. She dresses like the presidential contender and pantsuit aficionado that she is.

About the Author
By Valentina Zarya
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