Lying in bed this morning, reading the Washington Post sideways on my computer next to the me – as you do – I thought this was an interesting comment by Ruth Marcus in the context of the President’s recent remarks about California Attorney General Kamala Harris –
A female politician is, inevitably, going to devote more attention to her appearance than is her male counterpart. Inevitably, because voters — female and male — are going to pay more attention to her clothes, or whether she’s gained (or lost) a few pounds
I’m sure this is true. But what I wonder about is why it is true. What does it tell us about women, about men and about society? Does it reflect something fundamental about differences between the sexes? And if it does, on what basis would someone who has a purely materialist worldview reasonably make ethical judgments about differences in the opportunities, experiences and challenges that men and women each face?