The hubbub around Alaska Governor Sarah Palin continues. It seems the American media – and the American public – have an insatiable appetite for all things Palin.

HALLANDALE BEACH - THE VOICE/Advancing Christian Life & Culture

Questions continue about sexism, Hillary Clinton, and how the Dems will counter what has proven to be the most electrifying move in the Republican party in years.

Did McCain make the right move? We won’t know until the votes are counted? How badly will Palin be raked through the coals? Will attacks against her ultimately backfire on Obama supporters? Is Obama’s lipstick on a pig comment evidence of sexism in the party that champions feminism?

The next seven weeks will be exciting, indeed. The Voice magazine checked in with some respected university educators on the ongoing Palin impact as the issues continue to unfold in an election in which the people of the United States are demanding change.

AVOIDING SEXISM CHARGES

“Sen. McCain was trying to accomplish many goals with the pick of Gov. Palin: to reach out to his conservative base and working-class independent voters, some of whom voted for Sen. Clinton, and to re-establish his maverick brand, taking back the ‘change’ message from the Obama/Biden ticket,” says Dr. Rebecca Deen, associate professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Texas at Arlington.

This was going to be difficult for McCain, as many of these goals are contradictory – social conservative issues of abortion and gay marriage are not necessarily the priorities of the independent and moderate voter, she says.

Nevertheless, the choice of Palin was certainly successful at erasing the so-called enthusiasm gap; many social conservatives are very pleased by the pick. But it wasn’t without risk, as some social conservatives question her family choices and as independent voters learn more about her issue positions.

“One question will be whether the Obama/Biden ticket can craft a strategy to raise these doubts while avoiding the sexism charge the Republicans are already leveling against the governor’s critics,” Deen says. “Another will be how Palin fares on the debate and unscripted news conference stages.”

PUTTING CRACKS IN THE GLASS CEILING

Bonnie Dow, associate professor and chair of the Department of Communication Studies at Vanderbilt University, is an expert on women and the media. As she sees it, while Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton are putting cracks in the glass ceiling below America’s highest office, they are still battling that double-bind for women in power - being seen as too womanly or not womanly enough.

“Palin is especially interesting because she fulfills some requirements of womanliness in that she has lots of kids and is pro-life, but is getting heat for not dedicating herself enough to her children,” Dow says. However, Palin and Clinton will not be painted with the same brush. Sexism in the media is always contextual - that is, the kind of sexism directed at a progressive Democrat is going to be different from that directed at a conservative Republican.

Noteworthy is the fact that Clinton and Palin also differ generationally. Clinton is old enough to remember legalized sexism because she came of age in the late 1960s. Palin is at least 15 years younger, so she is less likely to have felt it in the same way - largely because of the successes of the feminist movement.

“So Clinton will identify more with the need for feminism, while Palin will not,” Dow says. “This is not simply because Palin’s a Republican, but because she grew up in a different world.”

Click here to download a free digital issue of The Voice magazine.