The XX Factor: Slate women blog about politics, etc...

On the Identity Trap

Dahlia, amen. Racism and sexism are issues in the campaign, no doubt, but they're not the central issues, and playing the game of who-has-it-worst could end up in a form of Mutually Assured Destruction. Luckily, the candidates themselves seem to have realized this, Ann, and are trying to get out of the "identity trap" in a manner akin to your proposal: Both Obama and Clinton released statements yesterday crediting the other candidate and urging us all to get past this narrative. So now it's just time for the media to get back to analyzing the candidates' positions on key issues. (Via Marc Ambinder)

Speaking of which, here's an interesting post on the shrinking gender pay gap from a new blog: It appears that the pay gap is shrinking, mostly because men's wages have remained stagnant while women experience gains. (Via Marginal Revolution)