Ageism and Sexism in the 2016 United States Presidential Election

Abstract

The 2016 U.S. Presidential Election provided a unique opportunity to examine how ageism and sexism may impact attitudes (perceived presidential qualities and endorsement of positive and negative age stereotypes) toward Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Community participants (N = 875) indicated their attitudes and voting intentions 3 weeks before the election. Endorsement of positive and negative age stereotypes and perceived presidential qualities for Clinton and Trump varied based on participants' attitudes toward women, political stance (conservative/liberal), and demographic characteristics (racial/ethnic identification, education, gender identification). Individuals who perceived sexism to be more prevalent and perceived women as more competent in general had more positive attitudes toward Clinton, in contrast, only perceptions of lower prevalence of sexism (and not competence of women) predicted attitudes toward Trump. Individuals who perceived sexism as less prevalent viewed Clinton as less presidential and endorsed stronger negative age stereotypes for Clinton, while they viewed Trump as more presidential and endorsed stronger positive and weaker negative age stereotypes for Trump. Our findings suggest that both ageism and

Democratic candidates in the 2020 US presidential primary: The portrayal of race, gender, and age in editorial cartoons

“…However, considering that Biden and Sanders are almost 10 years older than Warren, and Biden's age did not prevent him from securing both the Democratic nomination and the eventual Presidency, this suggests that age‐related stereotypes did not impede him. This mirrors the situation for Trump in the 2016 campaign (Lytle et al., 2018).…”

“…Age has been a concern for the past few election cycles and, even though it was not a central focus of the original study (Zurbriggen & Sherman, 2010), concerns were raised then around McCain's age, that at 71, he would have become the oldest newly elected president (Horsley, 2008). In 2016, both Trump and Clinton had age stereotypes applied to them (though only Clinton had her age used against her, despite being younger than Trump; Lytle et al., 2018). In a way, the results from our study differ from the past treatment of age, because we found that age stereotypes were primarily focused on Biden, despite all three front‐runners being over 70 (Padilla et al., 2019).…”

“…They found that preferences for candidates who are men were unaffected by perceptions of power‐seeking intentions, but female candidates perceived to be power‐seeking were also perceived as less competent and more immoral, which led to lower support. In the 2016 election, there is evidence that age stereotypes were more of a hurdle for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and not as much of an issue for Republican candidate Donald Trump, suggesting that women running for office are hindered by ageism in ways that men are not (Lytle et al., 2018). This is especially an issue for racial minority women, because they are more likely to receive campaign coverage focused on their gender than White women are (Ward, 2016).…”

Sexual Orientation and Gender Differences in Aging Perceptions and Concerns Among Older Adults

“…compared to older men (Chrisler et al, 2016). Similarly, qualified older women are perceived differently when seeking leadership positions as they face both sexism and ageism as impediments to securing positions of power (Lytle et al, 2018).…”

“…Census Bureau, 2011). Despite this substantial increase in older lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults and the disproportionate number of older women, little research is directed toward understanding the unique aging experiences of older sexual minorities (Fredriksen-Goldsen & Muraco, 2010) nor older women (Chrisler et al, 2016; Lytle, Macdonald, Dyar, & Levy, 2018). In light of research highlighting the need and value of studying intersectionality (Fredriksen-Goldsen & Muraco, 2010; Lytle et al, 2018) and lack of research examining sexual orientation or gender differences among older adults, the present investigation attempts to address these gaps in the literature.…”