Feminism and Hillary

Hillary Rodham Clinton has been fighting sexism for her entire life.  In an interview with Rebecca Traister posted on The New York Magazine's website, Hillary discussed how women's ambition is dangerous:

“I think it’s the competition,” she said. “Like, if you do this, there won’t be room for some of us, and that’s not fair.” I pushed her: Did she mean men’s fears that ambitious women would take up space that used to belong exclusively to them? “One hundred percent,” she said, nodding forcefully.

This need to compete for the right to participate in what is still seen as a male space has led to a variety of life choices and decisions. Yet no matter how hard she works, she gets questions about whether she prefers diamonds to pearls. Lets face it - all the other candidates are wearing pants suits, but hers are the ones being commented on. She's the one choosing to wear pants suits because she's the only one on that stage who has the option to wear a dress. She's choosing to do what she's done for decades - fight for a space in a male dominated arena. She chose her uniform and gear to fit her situation, and why should we expect her to change it now that women are "allowed" to wear skirt suits and dresses in a political arena?

When Hillary's daughter announced her pregnancy, news sources exploded with questions about how (not if, but how) Hillary's run for president would be affected by being a grandmother. Really? Do you know how many men are grandfathers without their ability to run for office being questions?

Then there's the question of her husband. The never ending question of her husband.  "Hillary and Bill are going to create a second Clinton presidency." "Hillary is power hungry and stayed with Bill." As a presidential candidate, she is being defined as Bill Clinton's wife. She is being defined for her relationship with him, reminding us all that a woman is not an individual but is defined by her relationship to her man.

Staying with her husband is bad for Hillary's political career. People bring up her husband as one of the reasons they won't vote for her. They didn't like his politics, and obviously she and him agree on every detail, which isn't true. Anti-Hillary folks point to the mess that occurred when Bill did show up at one of her rallies and got into a screaming match with Bernie supporters and how his involvement. Bill's recommendations were part of why she lost the nomination in 2008.

Lest we forget, Bill Clinton is also a philanderer. He got it on, and he got caught. There are so many people talking about how she stayed because of her hunger for the White House yet they leave out the details of how staying with him is a count against her. They forget that people stick with their cheating spouses for a variety of reasons. A lot of people either cheat or are cheated on, but because it isn't in the White House the general public never finds out. I was astounded at how many of my own friends stepped forward to confidentially let me know that they'd been cheated on and their marriage survived (or they'd done the cheating) or that their divorce that they'd said was because of (insert reason here) was actually related to cheating. Many people keep it quiet when those things happen. They only told me because I was cheated on and had no problem telling people about it.

Staying with her husband could just mean that Hillary and Bill were able to work through the cheating and that she was ok with her husband being sexual with someone who he had power over. Not everyone is ok with that for a variety of reasons (myself included), but it isn't part of my choice to vote or not vote for Hillary as a political person. I disagree with Bill's choice. Hillary's decision to live with his choice is not my concern - even though it isn't a choice I would have made.

The Democratic party today is different than the party that Bill Clinton was part of, and the politics and social issues have changed and grown. Hillary has had to separate herself from his policies, and she has a platform that isn't a Copycat Clinton Regime.* If she was power hungry to follow her husband's coat tails into the presidency, she'd have dumped him before he could become a liability to her campaign.

 Yet time and again, folks turn around towards Hillary's relationship to her man, her being a mother, her being a woman when they talk about her politics. One of the hotly contested pieces of legislation from Bill Clinton's campaign is his racially targeted crime bill. Bill Clinton was strongly behind it. Hillary supported it. Sanders *voted* for it. Yes, Sanders voted for the crime bill because it included other important legislation that he wanted to see passed.  Yet we spend far more time talking about Hillary supported her man and hearing that she is a cookie cutter creating a third Clinton term.

Times have changed. People are learning and growing. Hillary Clinton has repudiated her former stance on the crime bill as the social issues and ramifications have become more clear. Yet instead of fighting for single-issue bills, which would have made a huge difference in Sanders' decision to vote for the crime bill, we're arguing that Hillary supported her husband.

How many politicians have previous presidential candidates been related to? I honestly have no idea. The first two that pop into my head are the Bushes and the Kennedys. However, it is Hillary who is being presented as a man's husband, as a grandchild's grandmother, as a pants wearing shrew.

It's a load of donkey doo. Disagree with her all you want - in fact, disagreeing with a politician is a right and a privilege of being an American. Just don't forget to sit down and think for a moment about whether your dislike stems from the policies she wants to put in place if she becomes president. Did you have this knowledge before choosing to vote against Hillary? Did you hate Hillary for her mannish ways (a non-nonsense demeanor, i.e. a bitchiness) and her familial relationships, or did you honestly look at her record before making a decision on how you feel about her?

Hillary Clinton is a woman. You cannot forget that. It is an integral part of who she is. Yet judging her as a fit presidential candidate based on her female hormones is absolutely insane.  
 


*  UPDATE 06/07/16: As a friend pointed out, I used the word "himself" when I should have used the word "herself." I have corrected it in the text, but I would like to pretend for a moment that I purposely used the "he is for everybody" grammar rule from days of yore to demonstrate that Hillary is participating in the men's arena, and consequently, the public is fighting back on the personal, female level. "Hillary has had to separate himself from his policies, and she has a platform that isn't a Copycat Clinton Regime."