Talkin' Bout My Representation
Ironically, this title is the worst example of substantive Gen Z representation I could have possibly come up with
It feels like we’re in an era of slogans where we have all of these very big conversations in a very consumable number of words.
Yes, I know political slogans are nothing new so technically this isn’t an era in the Taylor Swift sense of the word. They’ve been around since at least the 1840s and are often iconic enough that you can recall them without always remembering exactly when you heard them: you got your I Like Ike’s, your Yes We Can’s, your Unbought and Unbossed’s, and, of course, your “Look at Nixon. No one wanted to fuck him, so he fucked everyone.”1
In keeping with my promise of breaking down big political topics, we’ve actually discussed a handful of these slogans and the meatier conversations behind them: last week, we looked a little at the actionable steps covered by the slogan Defund the Police; we’ve looked at a great reason to Abolish the Prisons; and in a way, we rationalized the ever-changing yet always evocative Lock Him Up.
As each of these examples shows, you can’t always assume what’s going on behind the catchiness of a slogan lodged in your brain, and a lot of people in our fast-paced social media age might not take the time to parse through and understand what’s actually going on behind the curtain (this is a small side-eye at Don Lemon on this recent episode of the podcast Keep It! but also at a number of people who don’t want to be told they don’t get something).
All of this is to say that this week, we’re going to look at another deceptively simple slogan (Representation Matters) and break down what it actually means.
I talked to India Wrede, a political science and environmental studies major at Emory University and lifelong Georgia resident who’s working with the law firm representing Fair Fight Action and their case against the Georgia Secretary of State, about the power of representation in elected government, the differences between descriptive and substantive representation when it comes to female elected officials, and how to increase the number of candidates of color on the ballot and in elected office.
Cutting Confusion Off Right at the Knees
You may have heard the phrase “Representation Matters” in the context of visual media like movies, TV, books, art, fashion, etc. But, in case this hasn’t been clear so far, this is a political newsletter so we will be looking at representation in our representative government.
You all know I always cut right to the chase and never waver by asking silly questions to start, so when talking about Representation Matters, I, of course, had to ask:
Emily: What is representation and why does it matter?
India: Representation has two levels: there is descriptive representation which is kind of what it sounds like: “Does the legislature look like or describe the population?” In Georgia, one major issue is, “Does the percentage of Black lawmakers coincide with the percent of the population that is Black?”
Then there’s substantive representation which is: “How does certain people’s identity affect the type of legislation they make?” Descriptive representation is really only referring to on the surface looks and substantive is where you see the effect of descriptive representation in the policies being passed.
It’s important because there’s generally a consensus that descriptive representation will lead to higher positive substantive representation, in particular when it reflects minority groups interests. Often times, a legislature that does not look like the makeup of a state may not be passing the legislation needed for certain groups. In a state like Georgia, it’s so crucial because a lot of the times, the Black lawmakers are kind of fending for themselves.
Emily: Do you have any data that indicates that there are benefits when government bodies actually reflect the populations that they govern at the state level, at the local level, and at the federal level?
India: I’m actually researching this right now. I’m selecting lawmakers to focus on and then I’ll look at bill sponsorship as a way to measure substantive representation. People don’t necessarily know the right way to measure it.
For a long time, people would look at roll call votes but when you think about true, substantive representation, a lot of the times the bills that get to that stage to be voted on, and you look at the roll call votes, that isn’t necessarily reflective of the true interests of each lawmaker because so many bills get vetoed before you even get to that stage.
Roll call votes are what we think of when we think of legislative bodies voting. But, as we’ve learned from looking at the filibuster, not all bills are created and treated equal. In order to be discussed at all in a legislature, a bill needs to be sponsored or formally introduced.
Think of it like this: you could be chatting with your girlies in the group chat about something but until you bring your opinion to social media, you will not know how the masses are going to receive or discuss the points you’ve made. The assertions you make on your own profile better represent your true interests far more than the way you comment on other people’s opinions.
Chicks in the (Elected) Office
There are a number of really great organizations, such as Emily’s List, that help individuals —and women in particular— consider making political moves. It just makes sense to have more women in elected office as “they tend to be more collaborative and bipartisan… Women in Congress sponsor and co-sponsor more bills than men do, and bring 9% more federal money to their districts.” (x)
But just as we discussed before, there’s more nuance than what meets the eye. As India explains:
India: What I’m really pushing in my research is using an intersectional approach to look at how you look at a legislature and make conclusions off of that. I’m focusing on the representation of Black females. A lot of times when you think about female representation in government, it’s grouped by gender and when you make that group, people are generally referring to white females. When you don’t make the differentiation between the experiences of white females and Black females in a legislature, you’re already on the wrong track.
The Georgia legislature has 14% white females compared to the 30% there are in the state, which is super low, but you wouldn’t expect that 10% to be like detrimental to a female just because she’s white. Nobody is creating legislation specifically to like uplift white women— I would never say I’m descriptively represented by my white lawmakers.
India: When you compare percentages of Black men and women in the Georgia legislature, there’s actually a higher number of women which is interesting and that’s kind of across the board in different states. Black women are elected at the same rate as white men and at a higher rate than white females and Black men, which is really interesting.
For a long time, researchers kind of went off this idea, this “electability myth,” that the reason Black lawmakers weren’t elected as much white lawmakers was because the public kind of perceived them as “not as electable” but that’s totally disproven. But, even though a Black female and a white male are elected at the same rate, there’s an exponentially less likely chance a Black lawmaker or candidate would be on the ballot in the first place.
There are two conversations sparking off from all of this, and we will be having both of them.
Is it better to have more women in office, even if those women are not creating policies that translate their descriptive representation into substantive representation?
How can we encourage more candidates of color (and specifically Black candidates) to run for office?
Marjorie Taylor Green, Feminist Icon???
I’m not thrilled to bring her back up either but all throughout our conversation about substantive representation, I’ve been thinking about elected officials like Green, Joni Ernst, and Susan Collins who don’t vote in the interest of other women, as well as the dumbfounding strategy behind selecting Sarah Palin to run as the VP candidate in 2008. I asked India:
Emily: In the representation game, do you think it’s better to have more women involved elected to office, or can we afford to not put up women who don’t support policies that protect women?
India: What a great question!! Honestly, it’s really hard to answer. I would say we can afford to lose the white women sometimes. I don’t know if it would necessarily help descriptive representation if we try to elect all white women because they can be snakes. It is not a given that white women will be substantively representing women in general. A lot of the times, white women are the ones who are super anti-abortion. I would love to figure this out more.
I also feel like white Republican women are often used as this right-wing tool. They’ll say, “Oh you’re not a feminist because you’re not supporting Marjorie Taylor Green.” Like, okay!! What feminist ideals does Marjorie Taylor Green represent??? I would say it’s just really tricky.
Fuck You and Your Electability Myth, Too
Now that we know the electability myth is racist and sexist (and phew, by the way! So glad we were able to prove that!!!), let’s look at how to increase the number of candidates of color who end up on the ballot.
Looking specifically at research on Black candidacy, India noted that:
India: In terms of electability, research has shown how impactful it is to have a higher level Black official elected. There was a research paper in 2014 that showed “a Black incumbent increases the likelihood of Black representation from 0.286 to 0.607, and increasing the number of Black candidates for office from 1 to 2 almost doubles the likelihood a Black candidate won (0.369 to 0.599).” (x)
With the elections of Reverend Raphael Warnock to the U.S. Senate from Georgia, Black Lives Matter activist Cori Bush to the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri, and Kamala Harris to the Office of the Vice Presidency —all of whom are the first Black elected officials to hold such offices— there is so much potential to continue this upward trend of descriptive representation.
In order to help that translate into progressive substantive representation, we need to support organizations like Run For Something, encourage community activists to get involved in local, state, and federal politics, and then campaign for them!!!!
And yes: this is your reminder that voting is not a once-every-four-year issue.
I hope this turned that frown (Representation Matters?) upside down (Representation Matters!!)
Thank you to India for being a part of this week’s newsletter and for making all of the graphs featured today?????