- –
- +
The ‘binders full of women’ effect
How an awkward turn of phrase by candidate Mitt Romney took over the culture.
By Francis Storrs
Globe staff /
November 24, 2012
Text Size:
This story is from BostonGlobe.com, the only place for complete digital access to the Globe.
During the second debate, on October 16, Mitt Romney’s description of his record hiring women veers off course: “I went to a number of women’s groups and said, ‘Can you help us find folks?’ and they brought us whole binders full of women.”
> 23-year-old Veronica De Souza immediately creates a Tumblr site called Binders Full of Women. 3,000 people start following her within half an hour. 11,000 join in over less than 24 hours.
>Amazon.com pages selling binders are spammed with dozens of mock reviews. One reads: “[L]et me just point out one glaring omission: While this is a lovely, multi-purpose binder, IT DOES NOT COME WITH WOMEN.”
> On November 1, The Simpsons’ evil billionaire, Mr. Burns, his research beside him, endorses Romney.
> Election night sets a social media record with 28.5 million Facebook and Twitter comments (59% are from women and 41% are from men). 261,026 comments per minute are being posted when the election is called.
> When the returns are in, Gallup says Barack Obama wins the female vote by a 12-point margin. The total gender gap is the largest in more than half a century.
© Copyright 2013 Globe Newspaper Company.
