A pundette is a female TV commentator or pundit in the US, often

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

. The term was coined in the 1990s to describe anti-

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

commentators who came to prominence on cable TV during the

Lewinsky scandal Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist and writer. President Bill Clinton admitted to having an affair with Lewinsky while she worked at the White House as an intern in 1995 and 1996. The affair, and its repercus ...

. Bill Clinton was president of the United States at the time.Paul Farhi, "The Voice of Experience? Um, Not Exactly", Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2000
/ref>

Role

According to Stephen Klien, Assistant Teaching Professor of Political Communication at the University of Missouri, pundettes ''"seemed to capitalize on a combination of conservative identity, confrontational rhetorical style and sexual attractiveness in order to gain media attention"''Stephen Klien, "Ann Coulter's Inconvenient Gender: The Conservative Feminine Persona and Legitimate Public Agency", Proceedings of 2011 National Communication Association Convention
/ref> Susan Estrich, a self described pundette, said her success was not so much because she had ''"run campaigns and taught law for 20 years and thus might know what I'm talking about, but that I have blond hair and legs almost as good as those of the twenty- and thirty-something blondes with whom I am usually paired."'' Susan Estrich, ''Sex & Power'', New York: Riverhead Books, 2001, , page 207 The term is sometimes used dismissively by those that disagree with a pundette's position.Hunter Baker, "Down Syndrome", The American Spectator, 19 August 2004
/ref> Women described as pundettes, however, often embrace the term. More recently the term has expanded to include women commentators in a variety of fields, political views and races.

Notable women characterized as pundettes

Ann Coulter Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic of ...

* Kellyanne (Fitzpatrick) Conway *

Maureen Dowd Maureen Brigid Dowd (; born January 14, 1952) is an American columnist for ''The New York Times'' and an author. During the 1970s and early 1980s, Dowd worked for ''The Washington Star'' and ''Time'', writing news, sports and feature articles. ...

Nancy Giles Nancy Giles (born July 17, 1960) is an American actress and commentator, perhaps best known for her appearances in the series ''China Beach'' and on ''CBS News Sunday Morning''. Early life Nancy Giles was born in New York City, the daughter of ...

Laura Ingraham Laura Anne Ingraham (born June 19, 1963) is an American conservative television host. Gale Biography In Context. She has been the host of '' The Ingraham Angle'' on Fox News Channel since October 2017, and is the editor-in-chief of LifeZette ...

Heather Nauert Heather Ann Nauert (born January 27, 1970) is an American broadcast journalist and former government official who served as Spokesperson for the United States Department of State in the Donald Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. She is a s ...

Barbara Olson Barbara Kay Olson (née Bracher; December 27, 1955September 11, 2001) was an American lawyer and conservative television commentator who worked for CNN, Fox News Channel, and several other outlets. She was a passenger on American Airlines Flig ...

In the arts

''The Accidental Pundette'' is a comedy play by Nancy Giles based on an incident where she lost her temper during a panel discussion on ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...

''.Daniel M. Gold, "Mixing It Up With the Charmer, the Flight Attendant and the Pundette", New York Times, 1 September 2012
/ref>

References

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External links

Kellyanne Conway sings the "Pundette Blues" at the 1998 Child Welfare League of America annual fundraiser
1990s neologisms Conservatism in the United States