Happy Friday! Welcome to our Media Round Up: Debate Edition. Each week we’re collecting and sharing our favorite gender + politics stories. Here’s what caught our eye this week:

6 Takeaways From the September Democratic Debate

By Shane Goldmacher and Reid J. Epstein, New York Times

The moderators did not hold back at last night’s debate, asking pointed questions designed to challenge the candidates’ positions—although, not always challenging enough (we’ll get to that later!). Want to see how the candidates fared? Check out these highlights from the New York Times.

You can read the full article here.

That grating noise? It’s people criticizing female voices on the debate stage.

By Veronica Rueckert, Washington Post

Shrill. Hysterical. Grating. These are all words that have been used to police women candidate’s voices. Yet, when women try to modulate their tone, they are seen as “uninvested, passionless robots.” For the first time, this is starting to change. This piece looks at how the 2020 women candidates are challenging ideas about electability.

You can read the full article here.

Marathon Democratic Debate Includes No Questions About Women’s Issues

By Nick Corasaniti and Matt Stevens, New York Times

There were three women on the debate stage. There was one woman moderator. Yet, for the second time in a row, there were zero questions about women’s issues during the Democratic debates. Research has shown that voters are concerned with issues such as childcare, reproductive rights, and sexual harassment. So, why are these topics being left out of the conversation?

You can read the full article here.

How I learned to (Try to) Stop Asking Female Candidates About Sexism

By Rebecca Traister, The Cut

Sexism is a pervasive issue on the campaign trail, so why shouldn’t reporters ask women candidates about it? Well, Rebecca Traister argues there are two answers to this question. First, it might be exhausting at best, or harmful to their careers at worst, for women candidates to talk about it. Second, by posing sexism as a question, you open the door for it to be invalidated. Sometimes, it’s better to let the facts speak for themselves.

You can read the full article here.

Money Talks: A Look At Female Donors’ Favorite Presidential Candidates

By Natalie Gontcharova, Refinery29

During the 2018 midterm elections, women donated a record amount of money to political campaigns. And we’re seeing a similar trend in 2020. This is notable for women candidates, who often face gendered challenges while fundraising.

You can read the full article here.

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