Getty Cynthia Nixon announced she will be challenging New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a Democratic primary.
Cynthia Nixon’s campaign is asking debate organizers to turn the temperature down.
That’s the word before her August 29, 2018 debate with Governor Andrew Cuomo in the New York gubernatorial race. It turns out that the Sex and the City star’s team argues that keeping the room cold would be “sexist.” The debate will be held at Hofstra University in Long Island.
Nixon, who played the character Miranda on the hit show, is running against Cuomo in the Democratic primary for governor. It will be the first and only time the two will debate each other.
Here’s what you need to know:
Nixon’s Team Wants the Temperature Set at 76 Degrees
GettyCynthia Nixon
Nixon’s campaign had a specific request: They wanted the temperature in the debate room set at 76 degrees, according to The New York Times.
The Times reported that Rebecca Katz, described as a “top strategist” for Nixon, asked debate host WCBS-TV to keep the debate hall “warmed to 76 degrees.”
The New York Times broke the story that Katz alleged that working conditions are “notoriously sexist when it comes to room temperature, so we just want to make sure we’re all on the same page here.” Katz told the Times that 76 degrees was an “opening offer” to negotiate the temperature during the debate.
Cuomo’s Campaign Said There Are More Important Issues to Worry About
GettyNew York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.
According to Fox News, Cuomo’s campaign used the temperature squabble to take a swipe at Nixon, saying, “Unlike Cynthia Nixon, the Governor has more important things to focus on than the temperature of a room.”
After the cold room controversy sparked headlines, Nixon’s side released another statement, saying, according to The New York Daily News: “It was a cheeky opening bid, because we genuinely didn’t want the room to be freezing, the way he likes it. We didn’t want to walk in to an auditorium that felt like it was 50 degrees. We were also making a point about how ridiculous it was that they getting everything they want.”
According to Daily News, the candidates will be sitting at tables with drapes and won’t be shaking hands but Cuomo denies making any temperature demands himself.
The Daily News reported that Cuomo has a reputation for keeping it cold at events.
But are cold rooms sexist? According to The New York Post, a 2015 article in Nature Climate Change said so, finding that office temperatures are “gender-discriminating” because “women generally prefer rooms at higher temperatures than men.” The study found that women generally are more comfortable in rooms set around 77 degrees, five degrees warmer than men, The Post reported.
According to Glamour Magazine, women tend to be colder than men for scientific reasons. Among them: Women have “higher core body temperatures” than men do and they have slower metabolic rates. Women on birth control are likely to have even higher core temperatures, according to Glamour’s article. The article argued that building temperatures in many offices are geared toward the metabolic rates of men, not women.