In essence, imagine what any female running for office faces in our hetero male dominated society. Most people don't remember Geraldine Ferraro...but they "recognize" the female pant-suit. That was the silent "dyke" signal that most men couldn't accept. (And probably contributed to Hillary Clinton's run for office, which was an abject failure).

So don't dismiss gender stereotypes, they've been dominating our political culture for decades. It's too soon to laugh about our political paralysis.