The victors' clothes

Female leaders’ ‘look’ still draws attention

Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s fi rst female prime minister, clutches a handbag as she reviews the troops during a visit to Bermuda in April 1990.
Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s fi rst female prime minister, clutches a handbag as she reviews the troops during a visit to Bermuda in April 1990.

LONDON -- For Margaret Thatcher, it was handbags. For Theresa May, it's shoes.

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AP Photo

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) meets with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Berlin on Wednesday.

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AP

A close up of the shoes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and British Prime Minister Theresa May during a military welcoming ceremony at the chancellery in Berlin Wednesday, July 20, 2016, on May's first foreign trip after being named British Prime Minister.

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AP Photo

A close-up of the shoes of France's President Francois Hollande, left, and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May as they greet each other prior to a meeting at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Thursday, July 21, 2016.

The new British prime minister likes to wear boldly patterned kitten heels, and the media is fascinated. May's footwear has been analyzed, photographed and satirized. Photojournalists have captured her shoes in close-up alongside the stilettos of Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and the wedge heels of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The Sun tabloid greeted May's victory in Britain's Conservative leadership race with a front-page image of her leopard-print shoes and the headline "Heel, boys."

Dozens of countries around the world have had women at the helm, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Norway, Denmark, Liberia and Canada. But female leaders are still scrutinized as much for style as for substance, and invariably compared with one another -- a sign that they are considered exceptions rather than the rule.

"It's easy to laugh off, but it trivializes the women," said Jessica Smith, a doctoral researcher at Birkbeck, University of London, who studies gender and political leadership.

Smith pointed out that May's meeting with Sturgeon after Britain's European Union referendum came at "a crisis point for Scottish-English relations, an incredibly important point, and if we just talk about what shoes the women are wearing, that sort of undermines any sort of message."

May is hardly the only female politician to draw attention because of her outfits. Hillary Clinton has received comments over her fondness for trouser suits and Merkel for an array of brightly colored blazers.

And, in Britain, sooner or later the comparisons get around to Thatcher.

Britain's first female leader stamped her imprint on the country with her free-market policies and played a global role in the final years of the Cold War. Britain's Conservatives remain in her thrall, 26 years after she left office and three years after her death.

May -- the United Kingdom's second female prime minister -- draws endless Thatcher comparisons. In newspapers, she's "the new Maggie," "Maggie II" and "Maggie May." The Times of London said May's first appearance during prime minister's question time was "pure, vintage Maggie." Its editorial cartoon showed May clobbering opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn with a Thatcher-esque black handbag.

The Thatcher effect is not limited to the U.K.

Merkel and Clinton have both been called "Iron Lady," Thatcher's nickname.

Lynne Featherstone, a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, said the comparisons are understandable, because "women who make it to the top have similar qualities."

"To be a woman in politics ... you tend to have to be better than average," she said. "You don't get there because you were at school with some bloke. The same network isn't there that's always helped men throughout history. So the women who make it into politics and then go up are generally pretty formidable. And those who make it to the very top are a phenomenal force."

The ascent of forceful politicians like Merkel and May shows that women can sometimes smash the glass ceiling to their countries' highest offices. Once there, though, some think they still face a double standard.

Many saw sexual bias in the public debate over comments by Conservative lawmaker Andrea Leadsom -- May's rival for the party leadership -- who suggested that being a mother made her a better leader than the childless May because it "means you have a very real stake in the future of our country."

Male politicians' parental status has rarely been an issue in election campaigns.

Others wince at the endless fascination with female politicians' physical appearances.

The Sun's fashion editor opined on May's first day in office that the prime minister looked "approachable, not stuffy" in a collarless Amanda Wakeley coat, "quirky" shoes and "edgy chain necklace."

Her predecessor David Cameron's blue suits and black brogues did not get the same treatment.

The Metro newspaper made the point neatly by reversing the tables, describing the prime minister's husband in the sort of language often applied to first ladies: "Stepping into the limelight as First Man, Philip May showcased a sexy navy suit with a flourish of pinstripe."

May recently told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that "I have grown used to the focus on my clothes and my shoes." She said she likes to dress soberly and "add a little bit of interest with footwear."

Rosie Campbell, a Birkbeck professor who studies gender and politics, said May is one of a number of female politicians who have used their clothing to send subtle signals of authority.

Thatcher became so associated with her no-nonsense handbags that it spawned a verb -- to be "handbagged" is to be berated forcefully.

"We always think it's a bit negative when women's clothes are scrutinized -- and mostly it can be," Campbell said. "But I also think women use their dress -- think about [former U.S. Secretary of State] Madeleine Albright and all her different brooches. Sometimes it can be a way of sending political messages."

She noted that May wore bold, leopard-patterned shoes when she entered No. 10 Downing St. for the first time. "Did she put those on thinking that she was signaling something: I mean business?"

Unlike Thatcher, who once said "I owe nothing to women's lib" and had few women in her government, May has been photographed in a "This is what a feminist looks like" T-shirt and has worked hard to increase the number of women in the Conservative Party. She appointed women to senior roles in her Cabinet, including the home secretary, in charge of borders and security.

Women make up about 30 percent of Britain's House of Commons, and about 20 percent of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Some feminist campaigners say the focus on appearance will change only when there are as many women as men at all levels of politics.

"It is about numbers," said Frances Saunders, founder of 50:50 Parliament, a group that seeks a better gender balance in British politics. "The more women we have in there, the less noticeable it would be. I think we'd all get rather bored commenting on their clothes."

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