Sarah Palin Sexism Watch, #6

I can't even begin to tell you how tired of this series I am already... This is an actual "news photo" published by the AFP yesterday:


Now when was the last time I saw a photo like this of a serious national contender? Oh, right.

What makes this picture extra super-awesome is the caption that accompanies it:

Republican vice presidential candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin stands on stage during a campaign rally in O'Fallon, Missouri on August 31. Palin got comfortable in her new role as a vice presidential candidate as she made the Republican case to stay in power. (AFP/Robyn Beck)

She stands on stage? It's a picture of her fooking legs, not a picture of her. And you might think I'm making a pedantic distinction, except that I go through these daily photo dumps constantly, and if there's picture of a male politician in which his face isn't included, it almost always gets described like: "President George Bush's hand is seen waving to onlookers" or "The top of Senator Barack Obama's head is seen emerging from his campaign bus."

Their disembodied (ahem) parts are not called "George Bush" or "Barack Obama." But here, Palin's legs are described as "Alaska Governor Sarah Palin" full-stop. Curious, that.

And, aside from all that rubbish, let's face it—the picture is just appalling. And if you don't understand why, you're at the wrong blog. (Try here, for a start.)

[Sarah Palin Sexism Watch: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five. We defend Sarah Palin against misogynist smears not because we endorse her or her politics, but because that's how feminism works.]