Kamala Harris And The Return Of The Presidential Fashion Police

Joe Biden has announced that Senator Kamala Harris will join his campaign as his Vice Presidential GETTY IMAGES FOR ESSENCE

Kamala Harris just earned herself an ever-so-impressive spot in the history books.

The Californian senator was confirmed as Joe Biden’s running mate yesterday, not only becaming the first Black and Indian-American woman nominated for Vice Presidential candidacy in history, but the second female Democrat ever granted the opportunity.

On paper, it looks like a win. A crack in the glass ceiling. A moment of hope for the women society arguably oppresses most. In reality, it’s a shallow win.

The ascent of female politicians is entirely different to that of their male counterparts, and the signs have already started to show for Harris. In the last 24 hours, search terms like ‘kamala harris husband’ and ‘kamala harris race’ have spiked across the globe, while searches for images of Harris have more than quadrupled.

Of course, as the last decade has taught us, what a female politician looks like—and wears—is much more headline-worthy than their policies or political behaviour.

Just a few months ago, MP Tracy Brabin was called a “slag” for wearing a pencil dress in parliament.

In October, the Washington Times ridiculed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for getting a $300 haircut at Last Tangle Salon, based on the publication’s own calculations of a haircut, lowlights, and a tip. “The self-declared socialist, who regularly rails against the rich and complains about the cost of living inside the Beltway, spent nearly $300 on her hairdo at a pricey salon she frequents in downtown Washington.”

Apparently, she should have gone to the “government-subsidised Capitol Hill barbershop” where she “could have saved roughly $100”.

During Republican Sarah Palin’s vice presidential campaign in 2008, finance reports confirmed that the Republican National Committee spent $75,062 at Neiman Marcus and $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue for Palin and her family.

Outrage ensued, though campaign spokespeople assured the media that Palin’s clothing would go to charity after the election, and “wardrobegate” took over the headlines for weeks.

The double standard for men and women, in this respect, is clear. Women have the ‘choice’ between disguising their femininity to be taken seriously, or watching their femininity override their political narrative.

As anyone who’s picked up a paper in the last ten years can confirm, female politicians wearing anything other than a suit is news-worthy (‘because politicians (read: men) wear suits’, they say!). The politicians wear the neutralizing, normalizing suit, and the women wear the fashion.

At worst, the fashion police use female presentation as a way to undermine female power. At best, they use it as a way to assess their likeability. And, for Harris, their return is inevitable.

Democratic Vice Presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) talks on the phone as she rides on her campaign bus to a campaign event in Storm Lake (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) GETTY IMAGES

However, in the wake of almost-President Hillary Clinton, who jokingly thanked her black pantsuit after winning a New York Senate seat, Harris can play to the system’s expectations. And she’ll almost certainly do so with a wardrobe like your own.

Over the years, Harris has generally played it ultra-American and ultra-gender neutral, favouring jeans, tees and Converse over designers or trends.

While it’s not a traditional political wardrobe, by any measure, it is one that resonates with the average American. It’s smart, safe and, at least for the time being, rarely discussed by the media.

She wears her for-the-people-of-the-people uniform at gun safety forums, Pride parades and rallies, propelling her agendas into the news cycle, and her appearance out.

As the white trouser suit became a symbol of women’s suffrage and statement brooches became symbols of silent protest, Harris might just make Converse the symbol of outmanoeuvred oppression.

Democratic Vice Oresidential candidate U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) wearing her Converse at a rally in August (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images), GETTY IMAGES