Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Welcome to the Glamocracy

As those who know me know, I'm all for the innovative intersection of politics and glam, if it helps engage more women in a worthy cause. Like voting. And campaigning. And just the other week, Glamour magazine launched a blog with promise: Glamocracy.

As Broadsheet's Carol Lloyd notes, "it's a clever move when an estimated 25 percent of the voters are 18-29 and an increasing number of those younger voters are actively following the presidential elections." Here's Lloyd's assessment:

The idea behind Glamocracy is simple but deft. Five women from different backgrounds (but all within the youngish Glamour demographic) blog weekly on the 2008 elections. Amanda Carpenter, a 25-year-old reporter for conservative Web site TownHall.com, and Asma Hasan, a 33-year-old Muslim-American who describes herself as a moderate and currently registered Republican, fill out the right flank, while Fernanda Diaz, a student from Columbia University and first-time voter, and Caille Millner, a 28-year-old African-American editorialist for the San Francisco Chronicle and unabashed Barack Obama booster, make up the left. Only Rebecca Roberts, a 37-year-old journalist (and daughter of pundit Cokie Roberts), claims journalist's license and resists showing her political undergarments....Diaz's post -- about the candidates acting as if the youngest voters are "exotic animals" requiring full-time youth-outreach specialists and MTV-style events while regularly ignoring the international issues -- taught me something I didn't know. As might be expected, though, there's plenty about candidates' wives and daughters. So far, mercifully, there's not a single fashion do or don't.

Personally, I think it's brilliant. I'll look forward to watching it maintain its integrity, which, with these five writers behind it, should not be hard to do. They're off to a great start.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I love Glamocracy. There's another glamorous political blog that has been around for awhile. It's called Polichicks Online, the it girl's guide to politics. www.polichicksonline.com