Body Woman
A “body man” is a politician’s special personal assistant. A “body man” was always, historically, a man.
New York (NY) Times op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd‘s June 29, 2008 column applied the term “body woman” to Huma Abedin, the personal assistant to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and previously Clinton’s deputy chief of staff at the State Department. “Body woman” had also been cited on Twitter in November 2011, when President Barack Obama‘s body man Reggie Love announced his departure, but the “body woman” discussion had been speculative. “Oh so the President must be looking for a new body man. How about a body woman” was cited on Twitter on November 10, 2011. During Carly Fiorina‘s run for the 2016 Republican nomination for president, Fiorina hired Rebecca Schieber in 2015 to be a “body woman.”
New York (NY) Times
OP-ED COLUMNIST
‘It’s Over, Lady!’
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: June 29, 2008
(...)
Hillary’s chic body woman Huma Abedin got along great with Obama’s charming body man Reggie Love; the two, with their dates, shared a dinner the night before at a Georgetown hot spot.
Twitter
Mona
@Shopaholic_918
Oh so the President must be looking for a new body man. How about a body woman @BarackObama. I’m your girl. Call me
5:27 PM - 10 Nov 2011
Twitter
KO’BWx6
@krissy813
So, when the President is a woman, it’ll be called a Body Woman and not Body Man??
6:48 AM - 25 Nov 2011
Tampa, FL
Twitter
DTB, Esq.
@CyberCiety
@tjholmes Hey TJ-just heard POTUS body man leaving-pls ask ur boy Lothian if POTUS would ever hire a body woman who has degree in Int’l Law
7:49 AM - 25 Nov 2011
Twitter
Mary E
@CarverCallie
Since Reggie Love is known as Obama “Body Man” would we call Huma, Hillary’s “Body Woman”
12:29 PM - 31 Jul 2013
Twitter
Jean Esselink
@Uncucumbered
You have to admit “body man” sounds so much cooler than “personal assistant.” But “body woman” sounds sexist. #uppers
8:28 AM - 19 Apr 2015
Business Insider
Meet Carly Fiorina’s 22-year-old ‘body woman’
Catherine Lucey, Associated Press
In her six months working for Carly Fiorina, Rebecca Schieber has learned to always have a Sharpie pen handy for autographs. She has found ways to order the right vegetable-loaded meals on the road and become an expert at whisking her boss out of a room.
(...)
Schieber has landed in a rare position on the presidential campaign trail: working as a “body woman.” The job isn’t to provide security, but rather to act as more of a personal assistant, adviser, and sidekick.
It is typically held by men, perhaps because most candidates in both parties are male. And this remains the kind of up-close-and-personal gig where gender still plays a role in hiring decisions. It’s not unusual for the aide to spend long days with the candidate, and late nights conferring in a hotel room.