Martha McSally's Image (Part I): Walking the Line Between Masculine Assertiveness....

Retired Air Force Colonel Martha McSally

The other day, Martha described to me how it is that constituents evaluate their candidates. One of those would be the candidate's stance on issues. The other, and perhaps more significant (especially so for women) would be their perceptions on his or her character, personality, and looks. Society has split character traits between gender archetypes. "More stereotypic “feminine traits” include warmth, compassion, emotionalism, honesty, altruism, and congeniality. More stereotypic “masculine traits” include strength, assertiveness, independence, aggressiveness, and confidence" (Lindsey Meeks , 2012). Studies have continuously shown voters to prefer so called "masculine traits" in their politicians and leaders. This sexism on the part of the voters may account for one possible explanation of the scarcity of women in congress.

Then there's Martha McSally. The image she propriates is very specific. To recap, Martha is a retired United States Air Force Colonel and first woman fighter pilot. Her campaign literature is brimming with her military accomplishments. For example, this snippet from her biography I summarized: 

A campaign pamphlet emphasizing
 Martha McSally's military background.

"In January 1995, Martha flew her first combat mission into while deployed from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Some years later, Martha was in command of the 354th Fighter Squadron as the first woman in U.S. history to command a combat aviation unit. She led her A-10 team on a combat deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Flying over 225 combat hours during a period of increased combat activity, Martha was awarded a Bronze Star and multiple Air Medals for her combat leadership and performance. Under her command, the 354th Fighter Squadron won the prestigious Air Force Association David C. Schilling Award for the most outstanding contribution in the field of flight in 2006. When she retired as a command pilot it was with over 2600 flight hours, over 325 of those combat hours." 

She very strongly comes off as being strong, independent and assertive -all traditionally considered to be masculine characteristics.

The other side of the coin I mentioned above, is the candidate's stance on issues. As I've mentioned in a previous post, issues are divided between "feminine" and "masculine". Going along with a woman's traditional role as mother and caretaker, feminine issues are more likely to be labeled under domestic affairs such as social welfare, the environment or education, and less so with business, military or foreign policy, which tend to be associated as falling under the male sphere. 

However, one of the main issues Martha is contesting with incumbent Ron Barber over is the A-10, the plane which she flew in Afghanistan. Secretary of Defense Hagel confirmed plans to cut the A-10 Warthog, which is used to protect ground troops. On August 27th, Martha wrote an op-ed to the Arizona Daily Star pointing out that Davis-Monthan is the "home of the A-10", with its main mission revolving around the plane, and that the loss of the plane would risk the $1.6 billion economic impact of the base to our community. On September 1st, Ron Barber stated there is “flat out” no risk to the A-10 in the short term. (An assurance he has since had to rescind). Martha accuses him of not having even realized the intentions to mothball the A-10 though he has been serving in Congress for over 14 months on the Armed Services Committee and representing Davis-Monthan Air Force Base:

"We need someone in DC who understands the value of the A-10 and DM and has a track record of fighting and winning, not talking and losing. Having commanded an A-10 squadron in combat, I am running to bring the experience and leadership we need for this significant issue impacting our country and community."

Them's fighting words!