… We can easily conjure up anecdotal examples of high-level women candidates who have been subjected to criticism and attacks because of their age (too young or too old), appearance (too beautiful or too plain), or family status (whether mothers or childless). …
However, look closer and you will see that we have less evidence of the negative impact of gender stereotypes on women candidates than we thought. Much of the existing data comes from experiments and hypotheticals, rather than from measures of attitudes connected with actions toward real candidates in real contests. [cont.]
Kathleen Dolan (U. of Wisconsin – Milwaukee), The Monkey Cage