I’ve grown quite tired of criticisms of Kyrsten Sinema’s wardrobe.
Sinema’s clothes draw an unnecessary amount of attention; the New York Times, for instance, has run four different pieces analyzing her fashion choices. In response, Senators Susan Collins, Jeanne Shaheen, and Lisa Murkowski sent a letter to the editor saying they could not “imagine The Times printing similar pieces on the fashion choices of any of our male colleagues.”
They went on: “Your repeated focus on how she dresses, rather than what she says and does, is demeaning, sexist and inappropriate.”
This week in particular, I noticed some nasty tweets about one of Sinema’s dresses after she declined to reveal her confirmation vote for Ketanji Brown Jackson. In this case, Sinema’s wardrobe is not only a “focus,” but directly tied to her political decisions. And that’s shameful.
Some quick reactions:
- Are we children? Making fun of someone for their appearance is infantile and rude (is that not one of the first lessons we teach school-age kids?). Respectfully, cut it out.
- Women have enough pressure on their appearance, already. Let’s not drag political messaging into the mix. (This should also be obvious. Common decency, people.)
- Though I disagree with many of her positions, Sinema has proven herself to be brave and individualistic despite the petty expectations of others.
In the past year, Sinema has stood up to the single-minded mob of progressives in her party, from opposing Build Back Better to defending the filibuster. This came at a steep personal cost; Sinema was harassed and ridiculed.
But she sticks to her guns. In January, David Harsanyi called her a patriot for it:
Kyrsten Sinema, who holds the same position on the legislative filibuster that Barack Obama and Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, not to mention every single Senate Democrat, held only about a year and half ago, just reiterated her support for minority protections in the Senate, federalism, and national stability. And though Sinema is going to support all kinds of policies I detest, today, her principled effort to save the Senate from a demagogic president and his cynical collaborators while under massive political pressure — knowing full well she will never benefit from the media adulation Republican defectors enjoy — offers us a rare instance of political courage. She is a patriot.
In a rare interview, she told Politico that politics is not about conforming to your party’s standards: “I’ve been concerned at the push that happens in both parties, this push to have no disagreements. . . . Having some disagreement is normal. It is real, it is human. And it’s an opportunity for us as mature beings to work through it.” She votes for what she believes in, despite the prevailing trends in the Democratic Party.
She speaks of her clothes in a similar way: “I wear what I want because I like it. It’s not a news story, and it’s no one’s business.”
Her attitude toward her clothes are an ode to the political individualism that our government so desperately needs.
Keep doing your thing, Kyrsten.