A Change of Tune:  Race and Gender
in the Editorial Cartoons

A recent Rochester, NY Democrat & Chronicle editorial (“A Historic Race,” 1/18/07) notes that in the coverage of the unfolding 2008 presidential campaign, “the facts of race and gender do not dominate the discussion, as they have in the past.”

The media offer up a grab bag of examples, both of change and of the relentless appeal of stereotypes. An editorial in The Wall Street Journal says “Meet the first Madam Speaker in history,” and discusses ethics, with no further reference to gender (1). But a talk show host says “Hillary has thrown her hat, er … bonnet in the ring” (2), and a Washington columnist commenting on Clinton’s candidacy grabs a line from pop culture, perhaps drawn to an irresistible rhyme – “Obama, here comes Mama” (3).

Another place to look for evidence of change is the editorial cartoons, and those produced about Clinton, Obama, and Nancy Pelosi, tend to offer that evidence. Editorial cartoonists take the pulse of the public mood, offering a window on prevailing attitudes and sentiments. Couching their messages in metaphor, they have a ready repertoire of gender imagery from which to choose, images that are readily recognizable and largely acceptable to the general public. For race, however, that is not the case. Although some use of gender imagery is intended to critique the stereotype, I found only two such examples in this collection.

So, what do we find in the cartoons about three figures whose status as “firsts” might specifically invite race- and gender-based imagery?

Historical context can be provided by recalling portrayals of Geraldine Ferraro and of Hillary Clinton as First Lady. When Ferraro ran for vice president in 1984, cartoons focused on gender poured from the pens of the cartoonists (See “Women in Cartoons,” People Section, Rochester, NY Democrat and Chronicle 9/16/91). Of two hundred cartoons that I studied, the majority were about “a woman candidate,” not the issues. Ferraro was Walter Mondale’s sweetheart, fiancé, bride. Ellen Goodman noted this phenomenon in her column titled “They’re a team, not a couple.” And Ferraro herself told me that she and Mondale had explicit instructions not to clasp hands or embrace, as candidates customarily do, to avoid feeding that kind of commentary.

More recently, cartoons about Hillary Clinton during her tenure as First Lady were also loaded with gender references. Playing heavily to well-established stereotypes, she’s the real “power behind the throne,” the failed domestic partner, the woman who talks too much, the inappropriately ambitious but unelected political figure.

How much focus is there now on gender in cartoons about Clinton and Pelosi, and to what extent is race emphasized in those about Obama? I looked at Clinton and Pelosi cartoons from Nov. ’06 – Jan. ’07 and Obama cartoons from Jan. ’07. My research revealed the following.

Many of the 60 Pelosi cartoons are straightforward celebrations of her status as the first woman Speaker of the House. Pelosi’s stated goal of cleaning up Congress was an open invitation to use of domestic metaphors, and about half of the cartoons fall into that category, eg., Pelosi as mother or grandmother, managing unruly children, and doing “house” cleaning. (It’s important to note, though, that she’s a very chic “cleaning lady.”) A few irresistible gender-based metaphors are represented as well – having to do with toilet seats and tree houses. Only one cartoon employs a provocatively flamboyant image -- congressmen uneasily eyeing Pelosi as a whip wielding dominatrix figure.

In the one hundred cartoons about Clinton, two themes that stand out especially for their frequency are, logically, the competition with Obama, and, predictably, the effect of her relationship with Bill -- boost or “baggage.” Only two cartoons play directly to gender. She is the “ovarian candidate,” and she sports pink tennis shoes beside Obama’s black ones. But a more subtle form of gender-based imagery shows up in many, where pointed portrayals of her as exaggeratedly unattractive play to the importance of appearance in women.

As with the Clinton cartoons, many of those about Obama place him in the context of competition with her for the Democratic nomination. Only three of the 65 cartoons rely on reference to race -- the black tennis shoes cartoon and two others. A man says he won’t vote for Obama not because he’s black, but because he’s “green.” And, playing to the racial theme of the film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, the Clintons open their front door to Barack Obama with a dolled-up Democratic donkey on his arm.

The cartoonists show us ourselves. Stay tuned.

(1) “Speaker Pelosi’s Ethics,” Wall Street Journal, 1/5/07
(2) ) Larry King, 1/22/07
(3) ) Eugene Robinson, “The Web is an ’08 launch pad, Democrat and Chronicle, 1/23/07

A condensed version of this article was printed in the January 31, 2007 edition of the Rochester, NY Democrat and Chronicle.