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We wonder if this is what Mitt Romney had in mind with his “binders full of women.” | Source: Tumblr
In case you missed the second presidential debate last night (and the entire Internet this morning), it was heated: President Barack Obama and Republican hopeful Governor Mitt Romney both brought it. However, Mitt Romney had a bit of a gaffe, and this one was probably bigger than the Big Bird debacle.
What happened? Well, when Romney was asked what he’d do about pay equity for women, since women currently earn roughly only about 72 percent of what men do for the same jobs, Mitt Romney said that when he was trying to fill his cabinet as governor, he was given “binders full of women” to look through for various jobs. Maybe this was before Excel got really popular? Who knows, but here’s his response:
To reiterate: Mitt Romney, despite having years of business experience that he boasts about whenever he can, he somehow couldn’t find women to fill these slots. Oh, and he has binders full of women now.
It seems pretty ridiculous to separate job candidates by gender in general, but this is a pretty amusing way to do it. Did he use dividers for minorities or to split us up by hair color, marital status, height? Was it a full on Trapperkeeper with zippers and built-in pencil cases (you know, for the Bic for Her pens)? Were there kittens, dolphins, rainbows, and hearts like the Lisa Frank ones we loved so much? Were there puffy stickers and scribbly hearts like the binder we keep our pictures of One Direction inside? Did he get the idea from Hugh Hefner? Were there any papers about how even if we’re in his binders, our uteri still belong to us? There are just so many questions. SO. MANY. QUESTIONS. And now, so many memes.
The biggest questions? Well, were these women paid equally to men? And what would he do for pay equity for women? Because he never actually answered that. It’s cool, Governor Romney. We’ll wait (and check out our five favorite memes from our new favorite Tumblr, Binders Full Of Women) while you grab some more filler paper for your notes.
Did you watch the presidential debate? Which candidate are you supporting? Do you think Mitt Romney or Barack Obama won the second presidential debate? Which candidate do you think has a better plan for women? Tell us in the comments!
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It’s articles like this that are really making me mad. Romney didn’t mean “binders full of women” as a demeaning or insulting thing. He was saying that there were many women that fit the job. It wasn’t a sexist comment. Gurl has gotten more and more feminist. Everything a man says is taken out of context. You twist peoples words.
GURL has also been pretty open about the fact that they have a sense of humor. It’s not an article written to pose as the weight for an opinion, if anything, it shows that even in the heat of Presidential debate, there’s still room to laugh.
With the way that technology and the media are currently, memes and articles that try and sway your opinion are everywhere! (Much like the Sesame Street/PBS funding thing) it’s sad, but true. However, I don’t think you’ll find that this article was meant to sway, but rather, clear-up and explain.
Didn’t he just misspeak? He meant binders full of resumes from women.
Honestly women’s rights and equal pay doesn’t seem like a huge deal to me, and yes I am female. In the early 1900s, feminism was a big deal, because we did not have the same rights men did. We are perfectly capable of voting, serving in the military, and many other things. However, it’s not an issue anymore. We do have equal rights. Heck, we have MORE rights than men t seems, simply because fifty years ago they had more rights.
There are so many other much more important issues, such as the budget and foreign policies. Why get so nitpicky over a small choice of words, that can be interpreted in so many different ways, when we have a serious debt crisis? When everything our president does only raises the national debt? When terrorists attack and kill one of our ambassadors?
I agree with the person above, Gurl is not very open or bipartisan. While I know everyone has their own personal bias, could you at least Ty to not slam people you disagree with? This has become te website I go to when I want to see how ridiculous some people are. Really, selling sex to thirteen year olds? I’m going to stop now, because this will end up really long of I keep going…
Honestly, this is what is wrong with a lot of girls today. they seem to think that feminism is over, that there is no more sexism, and that it is a done deal. its not. obviously its fantastic that the early feminists and suffragettes got women the right to vote and there are plenty of women in the military and professions. but, only 17 percent of senators are women- it should be 50! women are not paid equal pay for equal work, women’s reproductive health care is decided by a group of men and no women. women are still sexually harassed and assaulted and nothing happens to the perpetrators. there is still sexism in the world and in the united states, and it affects all women and girls. feminism is not a done deal, Adrienne, and its statements like that that hurt us.
Why should there be 50% of female senators? Maybe not as many women run for the senate? How many women ran for president this year? None. So are you going to blame men for that? If more women were to run then mate more women would be on the senate. But obviously not a lot of women want to be in the senate, or have what it takes to get there. Just like a lot of men don’t have what it takes to get there. That’s nothing against women in general. Maybe women are more capable politicians, maybe they aren’t. Does it really matter? Ally hat matters is that if I wanted to and put enough effort into it, I COULD be a politician. That doesn’t mean I will, but every woman in America has the same chance as men. What they do with that chance is up to them.
As to sexual harassment, that happens because men are just plain physically stronger than women. It’s not the fault of every man out there, ts the fault of the sickos who do it.
Granted he may not have answered the question; I dont see what he said as such a big deal. He said that he was handed a bunch of male applicants for his cabinet and wanted to diversify essentially by finding women that were equally qualified and make his cabin balanced and fair. Saying he has “binders full of women” and saying that that is a point of sexually objectifying women, in a sense; well; that’s just nitpicking. Given it might not have been the BEST choice of words; keep in mind they are under pressure in this situation. Also; have you guys ever thought of the fact that the female applicants applications might have actually been handed to him in a binder. Its a common place to store stuff. Lastly its implied that in the binder was full of applications given the topic not full of various ways to objectify women. Why are we focusing on that snippet of a minor flaw; instead of on the heated discussion before that about what they plan to do about our trillion dollar deficit or unemployment rate as those are were the candidates differ most on and could possibly decide the election? I would much rather read about that. #Notevenaromneysupporterbutcomeon.
gurl.com, stop trying to seem informed about the presidential election. You are biased, ignorant, and petty.
Way to back up your point here with stupid pictures and jokes. I just hope the audience you are reaching has enough common sense to research these issues for themselves, and not be influenced by these manipulations of information that you are posting.
@Hannah, we welcome all viewpoints here at Gurl. If you can find a clip of Romney from last night’s election actually answering the question of what he would do to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work, please link to it! We’d really love to see that, because we didn’t see it at all when we watched the live coverage last night.
I would like to point out that more women working for the Obama administration have complained about not being treated equally in the workplace. In fact women working for the Obama administration are paid considerably less than men. Some have also described it as a hostile work environment. Now, regarding welcoming ALL opinions, I would like to point out that I often see this site harshly criticizing ones I hold very dear, without even mentioning facts supporting them. At points, it does seem like you are shoving your opinions down everyone’s’ throat, as opposed to encouraging, or even accepting, open discussion. I have always been surrounded by people who believed very differently than me, and while I will respect the beliefs of others, I will stand up for my own when needed. We all have a right to an opinion, but it would be nice if mine would not be constantly insulted either. After all, I may not agree with thin YOU say, but I would defend to the death your right to say it. I deserve the same.