Dressing up is choices, it’s politics. Women are objectified by sadness, but it is downright outrageous to turn it against the viewer, writes Iltalehti editor Oona Mynttinen.
Last week the Prime Minister Sanna Marin became a topic of conversation again. Both incidents involved choices of words that can be linked to the prime minister’s gender. Neither of the discussions was initiated by Marin or directly related to his prime ministership.
Choices of words, such as the lipstick government, have been talked about before and have been connected to the appearance of politicians. Marin herself has repeatedly wished that no attention would be paid to her appearance.
In fact, they have been the only times when the Prime Minister has addressed his attire. Still, Marin’s clothing choices are followed with the same precision as Hollywood stars.
That, if anything, is refreshing.
Last month, I found out what politicians can communicate with the way they dress. It is true that attention is paid more sensitively to the appearance of female politicians than that of male politicians. Who would be interested in comparing the sleeve lengths of male politicians. There is rarely any difference or personality in dressing.
When dressing is associated with a woman’s ability to make decisions or the conversation is deliberately directed to mere appearance, it is a different matter. And that happens too.
It’s cheap to use the clothing and fashion industry, which is considered feminine, against female politicians. At the same time, it’s pointless to pay attention to clothing, but criticism is allowed. In tough, masculine politics, there is no time to think about where the suit was bought.
But maybe you should pay attention to that.
Sanna Marin is the most refreshing thing that has happened in Finnish politics. In the last municipal elections, more than two thirds of young people did not vote. How to get young people interested in politics has been considered for a long time.
Now we have a prime minister who is internationally known, and the news threshold is not crossed just because of his young age and gender. What he does, every movement both at work and in his free time is interesting. Every outfit she wears, every person she hangs out with.
I truly believe that Marin and I could become friends. We go to the same festivals. I could wear a glitter dress or denim shorts too. I also party and go to restaurants.
Only what Marin has wanted to show me, a citizen, has been enough for me to identify with a prime minister who is more than 10 years older, with whom I have nothing in common other than the fact that we were both party ministers at university.
I think I know everything about the Prime Minister based on the dress alone, although in reality Marin is very private. And I don’t wonder why so many young women identify with the prime minister, whose entire career can be condensed into one jacket. We face belittling in everyday life, but so does the prime minister of our country.
Even though Marin is constantly in the headlines, sometimes because of uproar, sometimes because of her lifestyle, the government’s support has not decreased.
Self-created image rarely brings negative publicity.
Being interested in fashion doesn’t win you in this game, but you can use it to your advantage.
Dressing up is choices, it’s politics. Women are objectified with sadness, but it’s downright outrageous to turn it against the viewer. It must be hard to accept that those in a privileged position cannot identify with something that can engender more voters.
It’s brave, maybe even a little cheeky, that I imagine I can be Marin’s new bestie. My imaginings do not diminish my appreciation for the Prime Minister institution, on the contrary.
Sanna Marin’s versatility on jogging paths, in ladle matches and at parties bring her close. He is one of us. On the other hand, the suits and pomp of politicians are distant to me and many other twenty-somethings.
Everyone can think what they want about the decisions of the Prime Minister and the government, but it is pointless to say that Marin’s way of influencing the citizens by communicating through well-thought-out clothing is not skillful.
Although a fashion researcher Annamari Vänskä says that Marin himself only focuses on substance in public, which has probably contributed to why style reporting has not taken up space from Marin’s decision-making. Dressing up is a non-verbal communication.
Every lipstick government commenter and leather jacket rolling their eyes swallows without chewing the political messages sent by Marin just by looking at him.
Marin can’t stop us from staring and judging every detail of her outfit, but she can decide what message we store it in our brains.