Hillary Clinton Vs Sexism: Talk Less, Smile More
It’s no new story that Hillary Clinton has faced an onslaught of sexism in the media during her run but that doesn’t mean she isn’t fighting back.
There has yet to be one instance in this presidential campaign where Hillary Clinton didn’t face some kind of sexism. Whether it be from her opponent or from the media, she continues to be bashed not for her policies but rather because she’s a woman. She has taken all moments seriously and worked towards creating complete outlines and goals for her campaign to tackle. And yet, when Trump supporters are asked why they would never vote for Hillary, most respond by saying it’s simply because a woman could not be in office. The RNC is only fueling that mindset.
Recently, Priebus tweeted that Hillary barely smiled during the town hall event this week and the RNC backed it up saying that Hillary was ‘too serious’. The fact that Hillary was called out for not smiling just shows how deep sexism runs in our society. And Clinton pointed that out. She talked about how there will be PhD theses on the sexism against her during this race.
"“We were talking about serious issues last night. I know the difference between what we have to do to fix the V.A., what we have to do to take the fight to ISIS than just making political happy talk. And I had a very short window of time in that event last night to convey the seriousness with which I would approach the issues that concern our country.”"
“I don’t take anything seriously that comes from the RNC.”
In the same speech, Hillary talked about her plans to take down ISIS and asked what Ronald Reagan would think of a candidate like Trump supporting Putin. She proved again and again her qualifications over her opponent and expressed her complete plans to better America as a whole.
And when she was asked if she believed that she was judged differently in this election because she was a woman, her response was simple: “I’m going to let you all ponder that last question.”
Clinton is not wrong in her assumption that there will be many theses written about her and the sexism she’s faced during this campaign, there are already many working on them. Thursday morning, Humans of New York posted a photograph of Hillary with a quote from the candidate.
Humans of New York
IN FLIGHT, UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 06: Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to members of the media aboard her campaign plane on September 6, 2016 while in flight from White Plains, New York. Clinton is traveling to campaign in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Clinton expressed in the article why she can come off as aloof and it made her all the more relatable to her female supporters. She talked about her time in a law school admissions test when men in the room would scream at her and the other females that if they took their spot in law school, the men would be drafted and sent off to Vietnam. She talked about how she couldn’t afford to mess it up or let the comments get to her and it forced a idea of controlling her emotions in front of people.
“I know that I can be perceived as aloof or cold or unemotional. But I had to learn as a young woman to control my emotions. And that’s a hard path to walk. Because you need to protect yourself, you need to keep steady, but at the same time you don’t want to seem ‘walled off.’ And sometimes I think I come across more in the ‘walled off’ arena. And if I create that perception, then I take responsibility. I don’t view myself as cold or unemotional. And neither do my friends. And neither does my family. But if that sometimes is the perception I create, then I can’t blame people for thinking that.”
Though the RNC referred to her as cold, it does not hold the same significance against Hillary’s explanation as to why she is that way.
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Women vs the World
Clinton proves time and time again why we need someone like her in office. She’s fielding the sexism and the hatred against her with ease and one day, we will all examine the misogynistic nature that is being place upon Hillary and her race to be president.