Binders Full of Women

2012

Date: 16 October 2012 · Place: Second presidential debate, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York · Figures: Mitt Romney, Republican nominee · Barack Obama, incumbent · Candy Crowley, moderator · Veronica Brown-Moseley, Tumblr originator · Tags: Live Debate, Tumblr Macro, Political 01. A Phrase Hits Twitter In Minutes On 16 October 2012, during the second presidential debate at Hofstra University, Republican nominee Mitt Romney answers a question about pay equity by recalling that his transition team had collected binders full of women as cabinet candidates. Within minutes a Twitter account, a Tumblr blog, and a Facebook page bearing the phrase are in circulation. By morning the binders Tumblr has accumulated thousands of submissions, most of which juxtapose office-supply photographs with images of women. 02. The Real-Time Macro Cycle Binders is the canonical example of a campaign moment that is fully memed before the broadcast ends. It compresses what would once have taken a news cycle of editorial response into a forty-five-minute participatory event. It also exposes the fact-check problem at the core of meme politics. Romney's underlying claim, that the binders were prepared by his transition team unprompted, is contested by MassGAP, but the correction circulates at a fraction of the meme's reach. Sources • KnowYourMeme, 'Binders Full of Women' • Boston Phoenix, 'The Truth About Mitt Romney's Binders' (17 October 2012) • Commission on Presidential Debates, Hofstra transcript (16 October 2012)