In our modern society, the way we perceive our presidential candidates is based on how the media portrays them, which is important to keep in mind.
In the current anthropology class that I am taking, we analyzed how the media affects our perception of each presidential candidate, specifically how they highlight certain emotions or lack of emotion. In the book Unnatural Emotions by Catherine Lutz, Lutz illustrates American society’s assumption about emotions; stating that women are seen as being more emotional than men, which then causes people to believe that women are less fit for leadership roles in our society. This can explain why some people believe Hilary Clinton is not suited to be president.
Lutz also states that displaying any type of emotion is considered to be bad, explaining that these rational thoughts make people ‘sensible’ and “predictable,” which is then deemed, safe. As opposed to one acting based on their emotion: which causes them to be impulsive. Being impulsive can be dangerous because one's actions are “unreliable” and “senseless”, overall linking emotion to bad decision making. However, there is a contradiction due to one's emotion being connected to value, morality and ethics along with an expression of one’s personal values. This can explain why the lack of emotion can also be viewed as a negative.
In regards to how Hillary is portrayed by the media, some represent her as being emotional, which shows weakness, but others project her as being unemotional, which then presents her as being cold and withdrawn.
In Todd S. Purdum’s article What's Really Ailing Hillary, in the Politico magazine, he expresses that Hillary has become more reserved along with lacking emotion over the years. This change can be explained by the constant public scrutiny Hillary has faced, forcing her to learn how to hide her emotions because showing emotion worked against her. In Gambino’s article Hillary Clinton Opens up about Sexism in New Humans of New York Post, Gambino discusses Clinton's view on how sexism has affected her based on Hillary's interview with the blog Humans of New York. Hillary's explanation for why she comes off as ‘cold’ and ‘walled off’ is that she has learned how to ‘control’ her emotions.”
“I know that I can be perceived as aloof or cold or unemotional,” Clinton said. “But I had to learn as a young woman to control my emotions. And that’s a hard path to walk. Because you need to protect yourself, you need to keep steady, but at the same time you don’t want to seem ‘walled off’.”
On the other hand, Trump is also heavily scrutinized by the media. Based on Lutz’s argument, Donald Trump, being a man in American society, is expected to show anger. While Trump supports Lutz’s argument that men are prone to being more angry, that is not justified by critics. Reporters criticize Trump for his lack of control with his emotions which present him with lacking temperament, they also point out that he is unable to connect with voters because of his lack of empathy. This is illustrated in Joseph S. Nye's (2016) article Donald Trump May Be Undone by His Biggest Deficit: Emotional Intelligence, in in the Market Watch:
“In the terminology of modern leadership theory, Trump is deficient in emotional intelligence — the self-mastery, discipline and empathic capacity that allows leaders to channel their personal passions and attract others. Contrary to the view that feelings interfere with thinking, emotional intelligence — which includes two major components, mastery of the self and outreach to others — suggests that the ability to understand and regulate emotions can make overall thinking more effective.”
Nye presents that Trumps inability to think before he speaks and acting based on is emotion, can be dangerous. He expresses this as an explanation of why he fears Trump becoming president.
Along with Trumps lack of temperament, Nye also criticizes Trump for lacking empathy. Nye represents this in the case when Trump “...became embroiled in a dispute with an American Muslim couple whose son, a U.S. soldier, was killed in Iraq, and in a petty feud with Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House of Representatives, after Trump felt slighted…” This was just one incident where Trump's inability to think before he spoke made him come across as insensitive.
Overall, it can be seen that both candidates have to battle with how the media portrays them.
