Blog15
1. In the interview with Pat Schroeder, regarding Hillary Clinton’s run for presidency, the discussion of sexism and the presidential race highlights our society’s view of women and their perceived role in American politics. As Hillary has put it, she has had to “break through the hardest and highest glass ceiling” in order to be even be considered a presidential hopeful. The struggle between maintaining femininity and showing power boils down to wearing a “pant suit and wearing pearls” and never wavering from a stoic front. After becoming too emotional for the general public to bear, she was immediately criticized as not being strong enough or tough enough to handle all of the stress the position will hold. We can clearly see the sexism in the youtube video, which plays on her emotional, ‘feminine’ side, where men can only think of her as their “nagging wives”. In the contrast between sexism and racism, sexism gets the short end of the stick, since if Hillary confronts the issues of sexism in the race, she will be thought of as not being able to “withstand the heat”. However, as Schroeder discusses, any racist attack on Obama would never go without an uproar of protest. Because Hillary is a woman, she is forced to combat sexism whether she wants to or not and her run alone is changing society’s view of what a great leader can be. Is it fair? No. Is it something she knew she would have to battle? Yes. Unfortunately, our Country is much more concerned about the role a female will play in power than in what their actual capabilities are and sexism is still very present.
2. The most frustrating aspect of this presidential race has been the fight over sex and race. As Gloria Steinem says, we as a party, should be united and not let these issues instead divide us. Both Hillary and Obama have “raised the standards” in terms of what our hopeful presidents should be, though it is added that perhaps it is more difficult to be a female in politics than it is to be African American. What bothers me the most is that this race should not be about a black man and a female. It should be about who is the best leader for our Country. Feminists believe they must vote for Hillary. African Americans believe they should vote for Obama. I would love to have a female president, however I won’t vote for Hillary just because she is a female. I won’t vote for a race or a gender just to chose a side, because it should really be about whom you feel will do the best job in leading our Country. As Steinem says, a “feminist can still vote for Obama”. People of color can still vote for Hillary. The media has manipulated the public and forced them to choose sides, not based on qualifications, or views on issues, but rather on whether you want a black man or a woman as your leader. “It is the issues that are important” as Steinem says, and the issue of race and sex should not be enough to divide us.
