Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE
A bipartisan team of three female senators leaped to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (D-Ariz.) defense in response to a smattering of recent New York Times articles focusing on the Arizona native’s fashion choices.
“Your repeated focus on how she dresses, rather than what she says and does, is demeaning, sexist and inappropriate,” Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski, (R-Ark), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) wrote in a joint letter to The Times that was published Friday.
Their response was prompted by four articles published between Oct. 18 and Nov. 12, including the first penned by The Times chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman, titled “Kyrsten Sinema’s Style Keeps Us Guessing.” The Times opinion columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom authored the other three pieces with headlines including, “Why we Should Talk About What Kyrsten Sinema Is Wearing,” “Kyrsten Sinema and the Politics of a Sleeveless Silhouette” and “How Kyrsten Sinema Uses Clothing to Signal Her Social Class.”
“The Times has published four separate pieces analyzing the style and dress of our colleague Senator Kyrsten Sinema,” the three lawmakers wrote. “We cannot imagine The Times printing similar pieces on the fashion choices of any of our male colleagues.”
“As Senator Sinema recently said about the commentary on her fashion: ‘I wear what I want because I like it. It’s not a news story, and it’s no one’s business.’ We couldn’t agree more,” the three females wrote in Sinema’s defense.
“Senator Sinema is a serious, hardworking member of the Senate who contributes a great deal to the policy deliberations before us. Your repeated focus on how she dresses, rather than what she says and does, is demeaning, sexist and inappropriate,” they added.
Not everyone agreed with the Senators and one person defended the coverage of Sinema’s fashion as “fair game.”
The first piece by Tressie McMillan Cottom I thought had an interesting perspective. True that subsequent ones were a bit too much space for the subject. But it does seem to be a conscious strategy on Sinema’s part, so isn’t reporting on it fair game?
— kpoc (@kpoc) November 20, 2021
But another social media user found the swath of articles absurd.
So she dresses fashionably and then gets pissed that people notice she’s fashionable? Liberals and their #fakeoutrage 🙄
— Liz Dickinson 🇺🇸 (@lizdickinson8) November 20, 2021
A spokesperson for The Times rationalized their coverage to Fox News, “The aim of our Opinion coverage is to invite intelligent discussion from informed people with a diversity of opinions and ideas. We believe in open debate and always welcome reactions such as the Senators.”
Sinema has endured numerous attacks from the left as she and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) held the line on Biden’s massive “Build Back Better” spending plan. On two separate occasions in October, she was followed in an airport. In the first instance, protesters had the chutzpah to follow her all the way into the bathroom and continued recording while she was in a bathroom stall.
When Sinema was slated to officiate a wedding last month in Arizona, she and the bride were greeted by loud protesters who gathered outside of the venue to protest her putting the brakes on the spending bill.
Bride’s mother begged anti-Sinema protesters to stop ruining her daughter’s wedding https://t.co/PmQJRkdHTY pic.twitter.com/E0KwmqPhDC
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) October 30, 2021
Last month, a Times editorial board author attacked Sinema from a different angle and suggested she leave the Democratic Party.
“Some have suggested that she’s charting a path out of office entirely,” The Times’ Michelle Cottle wrote. “But Ms. Sinema’s better course may be not to leave the Senate but to split with her party. Her departure might even wind up being a positive for all involved.”
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- Watch: Suspect hits unsuspecting NYC man in back of the head with a baseball bat – in broad daylight - December 4, 2022
- Uber-hawk John Bolton says Trump’s ‘act is old and tired now,’ calls for ‘next generation’ of Republicans - November 27, 2022
- ‘Big yikes!’ SNL cold open mocking Biden and Dems over midterms painfully unfunny - November 6, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
