We certainly aren't seeing any shortage of badly behaving politicians. There is, however, a very noticeable trend in these sexual scandals. Most of them involve a man in power, not a woman. This makes one wonder, does power affect everyone's behavior, or is it only men in power who are swayed to act on their sexual impulses? But if this is true, and women are just as guilty as men in these powerplays for sex, where are all the female-driven sexual scandals?
Are there enough women in political office?
The easy answer is that there simply aren't enough women in political office.
How can women be expected to hold the limelight when they're so outnumbered? In 2017, women made up 16.4 percent of Congress in the USA and 12 percent of the nation's governors. Women also only accounted for one out of fifty-three instances of an affair in office! That's less than to percent of the scandals. As Lane Wallace once stated, "Women aren't even holding up their fair percentage of scandals!"
While numbers may be an easy culprit, the real reason for fewer political scandals might lie with our perception of the ideal man versus the ideal woman. When you ask a woman or a man to describe the ideal man, it wouldn't be uncommon for them to mention a man's power, his status, and his competency.
The more power and competence a man possesses, the more attractive he will seem to women. From an evolutionary standpoint, women are looking for a man that can be a protector and a provider and political power is one modern aspect that can translate to meet these needs. In a more modern sense, women might still simply be looking for the perfect husband: one in control, one in a position to raise their social status, and one with enough wealth to provide the perfect life.
Politically powerful women
On the other hand, politically powerful women haven't been known to set men's hearts aflutter. In fact, women with high levels of perceived power and competence can actually be threatening and less appealing to men. Historically, a woman was valued for her looks before anything else (except, perhaps her dowry).
The way that we value women is, thankfully, beginning to change. More and more men are recognizing the value of a competent, powerful woman. However, the change has not brought an increased amount of scandal for female politicians. There must be another difference that separates the men from the women in this matter. Many psychologists point to a sense of entitlement as the second gap in the Sexual Scandal link.
In general, men have a sense of entitlement about sex that women do not appear to possess. Men view sex as their reward for achieving power, and many subconsciously use sex as a way to reassure themselves of their position and strength. Not only do powerful men view sex as a right, women continue to reward this idea.
Thanks to our perception of an attractive man, many women perpetuate this sense of entitlement and sexual misconduct by giving into advances and engaging in affairs.
Again, women view sex and power in a remarkably different light. While men almost demand sex as they gain power, women perceive power in withholding sex. Perhaps another holdover from days when women could be little more than housewives, women neither chase sexual opportunities nor demand them as frequently as their male counterparts. If anything, the link between sex and power for women deters them from engaging in sexual misconduct. Women who are old enough to hold positions of power are generally more concerned with being taken seriously, not being seen as attractive by their secretaries of the opposite sex.
So where are the sexual scandals of women in power? The female politicians exposing themselves online? The female governor having a love child with the hotel attendant? It's simply not happening. Some things will ralways emain part of a man's world.
