Rachel del Valle | Oh, pretty woman

“A wolf whistle on a spring day can feel great,” Cathy Horyn, a style writer for The New York Times, says. To which I say, a spring day already feels great. I’m not wearing this dress for you.

Horyn was writing in reference to President Obama’s recent gaffe in which he called California Attorney General Kamala Harris “by far the best-looking attorney general in the country.” Cue the hissing sexist criticism.

So, O.K. — I can understand how some might take issue with the president’s remark, but it seems misleading to cut it out of its context. It was meant as a joke, a compliment tacked on the end of other compliments — the earlier part of his statement describes Harris as “brilliant,” “dedicated” and “tough.”

Obama has apologized to Harris, despite the fact that she wasn’t the one who took issue with the president’s flattery.

Our country has a strange relationship with attractive women in spheres other than, say, pop music. The idea that certain industries, such as entertainment, are built upon the objectification of women seems to somehow make sense. We accept this ugly fact about beautiful people.

But the moment a woman in politics or business or any male-dominated, “serious” field is singled out for her appearance, there is an inordinate reaction in the media. Sure, Hillary Clinton should be admired for her diplomatic skills, not her haircut, but that doesn’t mean commenting on her updo trivializes her as a leader. Hillary, your femininity is showing.

The American cultural hang up on appearances and femininity in general is not going to be corrected by making smart women feel like they have to downplay their looks in order to be taken seriously.

To huff and puff every time a woman is noted for both her beauty as well as her brains only reinforces the double standard females face in reaching positions of power. So what if someone says she’s pretty? Get over it.

To suggest that women are so sensitive and vain that any comment regarding their appearance, positive or negative, will crush their confidence speaks to a larger problem.

An accomplished, attractive woman doesn’t get where she is just because of the way she looks. That much is obvious. But femininity, in its many shades and expressions, is part of being a woman.

Arguments that seek to defend pretty women for their prettiness feel stale today. Who wants to dust off the 1980s power suit idea that women have to act like men in order to be successful?

The faulty logic is that since men are not concerned with their appearance, women should pretend to not care, too. But why should women have to assimilate to advance to powerful positions in the workplace. Want to get promoted? Go easy on the eyeliner. Haven’t you seen “Working Girl”?

By implying that the key to being professionally rewarded is to act more like a man, we’re discouraging a whole generation of women who don’t want to check their heels at the door of the boys club.

The discussion stirred by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book, “Lean In,” is an interesting foil to this media fueled “best-looking attorney general” blip. The goal of Sandberg’s book is to convince women that they can have it all if they only “lean in” instead of pulling back.

The gendered advice of Sandberg’s book, which aims to build camaraderie among working women, is refreshing in the light of so much rhetoric that insists that women can be just like men.

Why is the conventional idea of masculinity the standard to which working professionals are judged? Masculinity is not neutrality, and femininity is not inherently ostentatious. Most women choose to present themselves in a certain way for themselves, not for others.

And while President Obama’s comment may seem to oversimplify Harris as just another pretty face, his jocular tone differentiates him from gawkers in the press and on the street. He meant what he said as a joke, not a cat call. After all, his wife is by far the best-looking first lady in the country.

Rachel del Valle is a College junior from Newark, N.J. Her email address is rdel@sas.upenn.edu. Follow her @rachelsdelvalle. “Duly Noted” appears every Tuesday.

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