I think Anna has a point.

She definitely has a point. A woman can still looked put together and feminine without having to look like a man, and she can still hold true to her beliefs and be strong, regardless of what she's wearing.

Way to go Anna!!!!!!!!! I fully agree!

I Anna has point but I also think that she is not seeing Hiliary's side of things. She is literally criticized for EVERYTHING in terms of what she is wearing. One day she had the tiniest and I mean tiniest hint of cleavage and she was ripped apart for it. There is already the stereotype that women cant be president of of their feminine issues. Clinton is the only candidate who's gender is pushed in the forefront. I think Anna needs to keep her mouth shut until she learns what it is like to be a lone woman in a man's world where every aspect of your gender in on the front page of every newspaper

i agree, jessness, but isn't the idea of a woman who is afraid/unable to do what she wants in a 'man's world' worse?

it's a fine line, and i don't envy her in that regard.

Absolutely agree with Anna.

I do believe Hilary can, and should, do whatever she thinks is best for her and her campaign, though.

Hopefully Hilary can reconsider once the elections are over. I think it would have made a strong statement now, but obviously she doesn't think America is ready for that yet.

But Hilary is also trying to gain the vote and the appeal of America and when you are scrutinized by both men and women for trying to portray a strong image for everything little aspect of your appearance can you really blame her for not wearing a frilly dress to a debate.

Also why do we always have to push these gender ideas of what is feminine and what isnt on each other. Maybe Hilary is comfortable in the clothes she wears. Even when she wasnt in office she never wore "feminine" clothing. I say until men are equally scrutinized for their clothing choices everyone should back off of Hilary and her power suits

Edwards caught a lot of grief for his $400 haircuts and Guiliani is still getting flack for his cross dressing. Public scrutiny is to be expected when you campaign for important political elections, and I don't think that it's one-sided. Clinton was probably right to play it safe.

Also, lots of professions "require" women AND men to dress conservatively. At a presidential candidate it's pretty much a 24 hour a day job (meaning, photo shoots for Vogue would technically qualify as action within the scope of the job).

AND I'd be willing to bet that if one of the male candidates showed the teeensiest bit of chest hair, maybe he didn't button the top button on his shirt, he'd catch a lot of crap for that too.

I'm all for equal rights, I'm just trying to be pragmatic.

Barack was on the cover of Men's Vogue, why can't Hillary be in women's Vogue. I think Anna is right.

JessNess, you put it beautifully! I couldn't agree more!

I agree with JessNess. And it's not about hiding your true self or being afraid to express yourself, its what's being appropriate in your line of work. there are days when I would just love to wear yoga pants and a fleece jacket to work and other days I want to put on my red patent platform shoes, but I don't. Not because I'm afraid to express myself, but because I work in a professional setting. I mean, as much as I love reading Vogue, there's pretty much nothing in there that is work appropriate. It must be nice to work at Vogue and get to wear all of that cool stuff (assuming, of course, that Vogue really is like Runway on the Devil Wears Prada). For the rest of us it's about balancing our personal style with professionalism. And maybe that's where Anna is right--maybe Senator Clinton could do a better job at incorporating a feminine element into her professional attire. I think it's possible to look good, look feminine, and still project an image of professionalism and confidence.

well, she can dress like she does and still be on the cover of a magazine. i don't think that should be an issue, but i guess she has to be really careful.

BTW how do we know that Hillary opted out because she didn't want to look to feminine. I would think that she would not want to do Vogue because it is seen as expensive and upper class (in terms of what it shows and advertises) and she is trying to appeal to the more middle class demographic. There are so many politics in even deciding what magazine to be featured in

Hillary's already caught a lot of flack for showing a teeny amount of cleavage, and now people won't stop talking about how manly she looks or how bad her pantsuits are.
Just leave the woman alone. She's the only candidate that gets a lot of crap about her appearance, and of course, it's only because she's female.

wooo go anna!!

Yeah Anna!

However...Hillary has a nutcracker in her (dubious) honor. I don't think she's coming off as too feminine.

Let's face it, Hillary is a "love her or hate her" figure and people who hate her...they really, really hate her.

It wouldn't have mattered what she picked. She's damned either way for some.

I think she should've done it. It's Vogue! (But, that's me talking here.)

I think it's funny, yet scary, how shallow certain elements of our Presidential Elections have always been. They have always been a lot about appearance, it's nothing new.

ew i hate anna
not a big fan of hilary either

You know Hillary is running for PRESIDENT of the U.S not the next fashionista. Yes you can have power and fashion but honestly how serious would anyone take her while she is talking about health care wearing the latest fashions? She is already ripped apart for what she is wearing the last thing she needs is for people to able her as being vain and caring more about her looks than the country by trying to portray herself as feminine.

As women we may see a women in power dressing feminine as a good thing but to men its a completely different thing. She is already fighting against sexist ideas that this country has about a woman in power and not being strong enough. Guys are not going to vote for someone who seems to care about her looks. So if that means dressing "mannish" to get the population to take her seriously then so be it.

Anna really should not be talking, that fur wearing snobby hag hasn't changed her look in over a decade. I would like to see her try to run for a political office wearing what she does and see what kind of sh*t she gets for it.

Haha, I know. When I read it in the Magazine I was shocked.

syako, I agree. I love Barack and was excited to see him on the cover of the men's. Hilary not doing the cover of vogue is another strike against in my book. Didn't like her to begin with and even more so now.

Anna's right had man, Andre Leon Talley, is a huge Barak supporter. I wonder if that had something to do with this.

If you take her statement as "it SUCKS that women have to downplay their femininity in order to be taken seriously," then yes, she's right. But I have a feeling she's just taking a swipe at Clinton.

I'm no Hillary supporter, but she would get *ripped to shreds* by the media if she started dressing in a more feminine manner. And that blows, yes - but the time to address that is not in the middle of an extremely important presidential campaign.

I completely agree with Anna's statement. How can it be feminism if you are supposed to act/look like a man? That said, I've no idea what the context of this statement from Hillary was. Maybe she was half-naked on a bed or frolicking through wildflowers or something. Maybe the photo shoot wasn't so much making her look feminine as too weak, or as not fitting with her image. Could just be poor choice of words on her side.

While I agree with Anna's statement, I know I would've rolled my eyes at Hillary appearing in 'Vogue.' As much as I love 'Vogue,' it IS a fashion magazine and I would've thought Hillary was disingenuous for appearing on their cover. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Fab cut off the rest of Anna's statement where she goes on to say that this is America and Saudi Arabia which just shows me that Anna has no clue what she is talking about

Hillary choosing to wear suits is not the same as the clothing situation of Saudi women

*oops NOT Saudi Arabia

freegrace, was it a bad thing, then, for Barack to be on Men's Vogue's cover - since it is, too, a fashion magazine?

syako - I think it's the same thing, yes.

Well, I personally think Hillary overreacted by opting out of Vogue. However, I can understand her playing it safe to avoid any criticism.

Maybe I'm naive, but I presumed in Vogue, Hillary could have been fashioned in a conservative and respectful manner (that is typical of her style). Elegant and classy that is fitting for her position as Senator (and presidential hopeful). Those aspects are part of fashion, too, not just the frilly, skimpy stuff. JMHO.

very true

you know, of all the presidential candidates who caught flack for the way they dress, I think obama probably got some of THE WORST criticism. Remember when he got compared to ahmadinejad because he didn't wear a suit jacket or tie on the campaign trail?

Sorry, he did wear a suit jacket, just no tie and a white shirt.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0612/11/sitroom.02.html

It doesn't surprise me that Hilary would see it that way... further illustrates my point that she does not represent ME.

I have a feeling many other women feel that she doesn't represent THEM either, because she is coming in 3rd in female votes.