Hillary Clinton got closer than any American woman to the nation’s top job, but her loss this week has thrown a spotlight back on the question: Why has the United States lagged behind so many countries around the world in choosing a female leader?
Tag: Gender Bias
What Clinton’s Loss Says About Women in Politics
Hillary Clinton came so close to winning the White House that she had planned to deliver her victory speech beneath a symbolic glass ceiling. It was intended to be a night that would celebrate a historic first — serving as a high point in a toxic election cycle. But in the end, the glass ceiling wasn’t broken.
Why do Successful Women Like Hillary Clinton Get Under so Many People’s Skin?
Sady Doyle, The Guardian – November 6, 2016
Hillary Clinton has a unique talent to make people viscerally angry. Just look at the footage from Trump rallies: supporters carry “Lyin Hillary” dolls hung from miniature nooses, cry “Lock her up” and “Hang her in the streets”, and wear Trump That Bitch T-shirts. You could chalk this up to Trump’s toxicity, but some of it also haunted the Democratic primaries, in the over-the-top depictions of Clinton as a cold-blooded murderer or criminal mastermind promulgated by the most fanatical Bernie Sanders supporters.
The Sexual-Assault Election
Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker – November 6, 2016
In a strange triumph for feminists, the election that may give us our first female President has brought extraordinary attention to women’s sexual victimization. The election turned in Hillary Clinton’s favor, perhaps decisively, when footage emerged of Donald Trump bragging about assaulting women.
Hillary Clinton and the Return of the (Unbaked) Cookies
With a single response in 1992 to a question about her legal career, Hillary Clinton became a radical feminist in her critics’ imagination, the Lady Macbeth who was an affront to the choices so many other women had made. “I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession,” she said during Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign. The blowback was intense and she spent weeks apologizing, saying that she respected women who chose to stay at home and raise children.
A Gender Gap in Views of Hillary Clinton, Even Among Her Supporters
Samantha Smith, Pew Research Center – November 5, 2016
Hillary Clinton is hoping to make history on Tuesday by being elected the nation’s first woman president. While the impact of Clinton’s gender on her candidacy is viewed very differently by her supporters and voters who back Donald Trump, there also is a gender gap among Clinton’s supporters.
The Best Argument for a Hillary Clinton Presidency? 238 Years of American History
Deborah L. Rhode, Quartz – November 4, 2016
The 2016 presidential campaign is historic in many respects, but none is more important than the role gender has played. For the first time, a woman is at the top of a major party’s ticket, and for the first time, millions of Americans are talking about the unequal playing field that she confronts.
The Lasting Harm of Trump-Style Sexism
Olga Khazan, The Atlantic – November 4, 2016
Where were you when you heard the potential leader of the free world say he feels like he can grab women by the genitals? Or when he interrupted his female opponent during a debate to say she’s “such a nasty woman?”
Hostility Toward Women is One of the Strongest Predictors of Trump Support
Libby Nelson, Vox – November 1, 2016
Since the start of the Republican primaries, hundreds of thousands of words and hours of television airtime have been devoted to one question: What do Donald Trump’s supporters want? The 42 percent of Americans supporting Trump have been studied and caricatured and psychoanalyzed.
Speaking While Female, and at a Disadvantage
Marie Tessier, New York Times – The Upshot – October 27, 2016
Women’s voices are often missing and discounted in public affairs, even when they have seats at the tables of power. They speak less, make fewer motions and are more often subject to negative interruptions. Similar patterns prevail online.