Congressman Or Congresswoman: A Titular Examination

By Kleinheider Posted on June 30, 2008 at 1:58 pm

Marsha Blackburn has developed, consciously or not, into a bit of an anti-feminist icon. While never one to underemphasize her femininity in dress or appearance, she has made quite a reputation for herself in conservative circles through her choice of title.

As many of us know, the lady prefers Congressman. She introduces herself as such in animated form on her website and is referred to as same many times over on the web.

Blackburn submits that there is no “statement” being made through the practice, Congressman is just what she prefers. As her spokesman says in an April Politico article:

“I have never known her to correct anyone who calls her ‘congresswoman.’ I have also never heard her introduce herself as anything other than ‘Marsha.’”Still, “congressman” is her first choice, Chafin continued. Blackburn signs her official correspondence with that title, and it appears on her website. In several news articles, she’s referred to as “Congressman Blackburn,” with the added disclaimer “her preferred term.”

Later in the article Blackburn even notes that her preference for the term is based on its being grammatically correct. Indeed, a prominent Tennessee feminist voice actually defends Blackburn’s use of the term asserting:

If Blackburn wants to call herself Congressman, it’s stupid to not respect that. It’s a legitimate use of the word and, I would argue, the more appropriate use of the word than just using “man” to mean adult male.Y’all aren’t the only men and we need to stop treating that word as if you have exclusive claim to it.

It was quite surprising then that while listening to National Association of Broadcasters PSA on, of all things, mammograms, Post Politics hears the breasted representative refer to herself explicitly as Congresswoman.

“Hi, I’m Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn. If you are a woman 40 or older talk to your doctor about getting a yearly mammogram.”

Now to the political junkie the slip might just appear an interesting curiosity. But considering how much discussion there has been over her use of the term Congressman as opposed to Congresswoman and what her preference says about her feminism, or lack thereof, isn’t it interesting that the one time she does choose to use the term Congresswoman is in a PSA regarding a prominent “woman’s issue.”

When asked about the use of Congresswoman in the audio, spokesman Claude Chafin tells Post Politics that Blackburn remembered recording the PSA.

“It was a proscribed script. The Congressman has so much respect for the group and their cause. To deviate from the words on the page, she thought, would have been petty.”

Listen to the full PSA:

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Tags: anti-feminism, breast cancer, Congressman, Congresswoman, feminism, mammogram, Marsha Blackburn