The 2016 Presidental Election and Gender

There has been a lot of talk about right and wrong in this election, along with blurry lines in what's legal and morally right. This is something we're all aware of, whether it's "Hillary is a crook and liar" or "Hey... Donald Trump is an extremely sexist and racist asshole who should probably be euthanized along with his supporters, or at least banished to the middle of the desert." After reading the two articles by Jill Soloway and Amy Chozick, I realize that this election is the most basic form of sexist, while it's almost also bizarre. I don't think the problem is that Hillary is a women, it's that she's a strong women who knows that in order to be heard, she has to be direct. On Thursday, 10/13 we briefly talked in class about how women tend to end sentences with a raise in pitch of their voice, as if asking a question, and this is because in the history of our country women have always been below men, not allowed to be assertive.

 

"Even Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor whose 2004 campaign became immortalized by a widely mocked scream, said the criticism of Mrs. Clinton was sexist. “If she were a male and she were making these kinds of speeches, would people be criticizing her?” Mr. Dean said on Fox News" (Chozick).

The answer to Dean's question is a blatant no. If Hillary were a man, like say Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump, no one would have a problem with her "shouting" while giving speeches. She would be seen as enthusiastic and strong. 

The struggle with sexism in this country is similar to our struggles with racial equality. Soloway's article made me think back to the arguements in All Lives Matter..

"I remember how there was absolutely a moment in American history where the civil rights movement powered a hard left turn, where white people talking about black people in polite company, where using the once tossed around N word in front of another white person became cause for lawsuit, firing, social suicide, exclusion.
But not so with men talking about women."

As a country we (we being mostly white males) discriminate against women, especially women who don't "belong" to anybody. 

Soloway's article also relates to the most recent article we read by August, about LGBTQ issues in the classroom.

 "White cis able-bodied educated males from the ruling class are at the top, holding nearly all of the power of the planet. You get access to this power if you’re married or related to one of these men. As you head down the pyramid, by daring to be perhaps — an unrelated white woman without a ring or poise, or gosh, a black woman, or a queer person or a trans person or a disabled person, your fall speeds up exponentially."

If we're supposed to be the "land of the free", why aren't people free to be themselves. As a women, I should be able to give a passionate speech, without being stereotyped as a bitch. There is nothing wrong with a women getting excited when talking about extremely important issues. 

In conclusion to what could be considered a personal rant instead of a blog... these two articles teach us that gender in this election is extremely relevant, and shows us that like racism, sexism is something hiding deep within everyone. If Donald Trump were a woman (Thank god he's not, that would be embarrassing), there is no way he would've even gotten the nomination from the republican party. He probably wouldn't even have been a reality star.