Rachel Maddow’s Intelligent Glamour

I almost choked on my Sunday morning pancakes when I read Daphne Merkin’s recent piece on Rachel Maddow’s “Lesbian Glamour” in the New York Times Style section. Aside from a score of other issues I have with this article (probably best for a different blog), Merkin seemed to miss, I think, one of the more interesting aspects of Rachel Maddow’s popularity, especially for people interested in communications.

Putting aside Merkin’s bizarre summary of the history of gay male sexuality, or her weird analogy between lesbians and wallflowers, the article trades in the worst kind of stereotypes by attempting to provide a sort of taxonomy of lesbian cultural icons, from “lipstick lesbians” to “unstylish dykes” (trotting out poor Gertrude Stein and Fran Leibovitz!). As evidence she offers up the testimonials of an anonymous gay friend of hers and a celebrity hairstylist who decides that the only “giveaway” to Maddow is her haircut. Oy.

By blathering on about pantsuits and Converse sneakers, Merkin misses the point. Maddow is a thrilling arrival on the scene when it comes to the representation of gay Americans in the media in part because her politics, intelligence, and rhetorical swagger have culled her a fan base that feels linked and deeply relevant to the last election and new administration. I don’t always agree with Maddow when I tune in, but it’s hard to deny that she was a particularly well-timed breath of fresh air, and is an idea machine and nuanced policy wonk as well as a strong debater: she’s got the politics, the policy, and the mic. None of that seems to hold much weight with Merkin; the photo that was published alongside the article was telling– her mouth is photoshopped out, leaving just the “giveaway” hair and glasses.

I know; this is the Style section, so maybe it’s ridiculous to expect an article about Maddow that thoughtfully analyzes how a former AIDS activist and Rhodes scholar manages to sell herself and her ideas to more 25- to 54-year-olds during the 9pm cable slot than Larry King Live. But if we’re sticking with style, Maddow herself has made some interesting comments about how she’s had to change her appearance to get TV-ready, from ditching her glasses for contacts to needing to dress up “like an assistant principal in order to meet the minimum dress code.” And, besides all that, as we suggest to our students, style is just one element of oral communications that’s worth analyzing; isolating one presentational quality and evaluating it in a vacuum is pointless if trying to snap a bigger picture…but then, well, I guess that wasn’t really wasn’t the point, was it?