Hillary Hate: Making Sexism Acceptable

Two great op-eds in the Washington Post yesterday, on the presumptive Hillary Clinton post-mortem: Misogyny I Won't Miss by Marie Cocco and Belittled Woman by Libby Copeland. Both women make the point that dislike and opposition of Hillary Clinton has been expressed in a multitude of sexist ways, sometimes shockingly so. Is it Hillary? Is it sexism? And why are people so stubbornly resistant to allowing that sexism might have been part of this campaign? (By "people" I mean those who insist that there are plenty of reasons to hate Hillary Clinton that have nothing to do with being a woman, and that there are plenty of reasons she (presumptively) lost the nomination that have nothing to do with that, either. (See a collection of them here.) My response is usually that while there are definitely legitimate reasons to dislike/disagree with Clinton, the expression of that dislike is what has so often taken sexist form). For those of you who still doubt, see what Copeland and Cocco have to say about it.

First Copeland:

There is something about that woman -- that woman! -- that refuses to bend, and something about a large portion of this country that despises her for it. The person who once conjured a vast right-wing conspiracy now refuses to exit a race she's almost surely lost, and it Drives. People. Crazy.

"Poor Hillary" is their response, an attempt at death by condescension. "Poor Hillary" means Clinton finally is being brought low (she is forever being brought low, isn't she?), the know-everything who tries so hard but never gets enough votes to be class president.

..."Poor Hillary" speaks volumes about an old truth: Clinton's wounds have always defined her. The haters are always on the lookout for her comeuppance, and the lovers love her more for what she has endured. The women who turn out to see Clinton holler for her to stick it out, tell her they like her grit

Copeland concludes by wondering: "Is it about her womanhood? Or is it about this woman? Is that a false distinction?" Cocco, for her part, thinks it's something that's being wondered far too late in this campaign, and by far too few people.

Cocco reels off a list of things she won't miss once Hillary is gone: Hillary nutcrackers (with stainless steel thighs!), "Bros Before Hos" shirts, comparisons to crazy bunny boiling stalkers, anti-Hillary groups with vulgar acronyms, comparisons to first wives and scolding mothers, whores and bitches. Says Cocco:

I won't miss reading another treatise by a man or woman, of the left or right, who says that sexism has had not even a teeny-weeny bit of influence on the course of the Democratic campaign. To hint that sexism might possibly have had a minimal role is to play that risible "gender card."

Most of all, I will not miss the silence.

I will not miss the deafening, depressing silence of Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean or other leading Democrats, who to my knowledge (with the exception of Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland) haven't publicly uttered a word of outrage at the unrelenting, sex-based hate that has been hurled at a former first lady and two-term senator from New York. Among those holding their tongues are hundreds of Democrats for whom Clinton has campaigned and raised millions of dollars. Don Imus endured more public ire from the political class when he insulted the Rutgers University women's basketball team.

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Would the silence prevail if Obama's likeness were put on a tap-dancing doll that was sold at airports? Would the media figures who dole out precious face time to these politicians be such pals if they'd compared Obama with a character in a blaxploitation film? And how would crude references to Obama's sex organs play?

There are many reasons Clinton is losing the nomination contest, some having to do with her strategic mistakes, others with the groundswell for "change." But for all Clinton's political blemishes, the darker stain that has been exposed is the hatred of women that is accepted as a part of our culture.

Two smart op-eds from two perceptive women. I hope someone forwards them to Maureen Dowd.

Marie Coco: Misogyny I Won't Miss [WaPo]
Libby Copeland: Belittled Woman [WaPo]

Related:
Rebecca Traister: "No one is making nutcracker icons of McCain or Obama" [Salon]

Comments

[lafrance]

I am sick of the women who support Hillary crying sexism all the time for Hillary's failure.
There has not been much sexism against Hillary and the fault lies with her and her bad choices in her campaign.
If they want to blame any men for Hillary's failure, don't blame Obama, who ran a very good campaign but, Mark Penn and Bill Clinton. Those two did the most damage to Hillary then the imaginary boogeymen that women are whining over right now.
And I am a woman.

[AbbieXHoffman]

And I am sick of all genders that can't read.

Rachel and most of us are NOT saying that Hillary lost because of sexism but that it exists all the same and that's a bad thing. The real women want to discuss it. Go back and play with the little girls who kick and scream at any any dialouge that doesn't fawning over their rock star Obama.

[cog1000]

Of course there was a lot of sexism and racism in this race. We had a female and a black candidate. No avoiding either. The point is that Sen. Clinton's supporters are constantly saying that we are ignoring the sexism or discounting how much that mattered in this race. It sure matters a lot to Sen. Clinton's supporters. To Obama's supporters racism seems more prevalent. IT'S NOT A CONTEST. Just once it would be nice if both sides would agree that SOME PEOPLE may have supported or not supported a candidate FOR OTHER REASONS. Did sexism and racism have a role in these campaigns? YES. Am I sexist automatically for preferring Sen. Obama? NO.

This is really getting old because there is no answer to this problem. It's not black and white, no matter how many times a Sen. Clinton supporter tries to make it so.

YES SEXISM IS A BAD THING. No Obama supporters would disagree. But you ARE NOT really discussing it. You are simply accusing one side of ignoring it. I have yet to see a thoughtful, nuanced discussion of race and gender in this nomination process. And I'm sure I won't until it's long over. Identity politics is SO much a part of this race that no one has any perspective. And I include myself in that.

But pls stop accusing. It's pointless.

[csepwede]

Welcome to the world of being an oppressed minority. I'm a black woman and I've been dealing with racist crap all my life.

[BlueAsh]

Well said!

[jbatch]

It's not sexism to oppose Hillary because she voted to give Bush the authority to invade Iraq -- without even reading the NIE report. Talk about craven political calculation!

It's not sexism to oppose Hillary because she pulled the race card.

It's not sexism to oppose Hillary because she lied about Bosnia, Ireland, NFTA, and distorted her "experienc­e."

And it's not sexism to oppose Hillary because she reorted to Karl Rove -like tactics when it became apparent she was losing.

And it's not sexist to oppose her because she ran an incompetent campaign.

I was for Edwards. when he dropped out, I preferred Hillary. But she worked hard to make it impossible to support her, and I obliged.

[DMBreck]

As a woman I am upset with uber-feminists calling Hillarys loss "SEXIST"..­.........t­HIS WHINNING IS EXACTLY WHAT MEN SAY WOMEN DO ..........­.WOMEN AS POOR SPORTS, TOOO EMOTIONAL.­...SO EMOTIONAL THEY WILL SINK THEIR OWN PARTY BY VOTING MCCAIN....­TO SPITE OBAMA VOTERS....­.
SHAME ,SHAME ,SHAME ON YOU.......­.she has so far lost the nomination, and will lose her whole POLITICAL FUTURE IF SHE KEEPS ON ...KEEPING ON.....
DROP OUT GRACEFULLY HILL....AN­D SIC THAT WIMPY HARRY REID RIGHT OUT OF HIS JOB!.....Y­OU GO GIRL!

[writeaway]

I have no party to sink. The only Republican I will vote for is McCain. All the accusations and charges of rascism hurled against Hillary while ignoring the lies of Obama and his ties to rascist Rev. Wright have convinced me to vote for McCain.

[Gmoney1]

I was cheering for Hillary until she started complaining about all kinds of things - when she was initially winning and was in one of the debates with several of the male candidates, she complained that she was being picked on because she was a woman and winning - I thought then that things were not going to go her way -

One thing I will say again - Hillary's gender had nothing to do with what happened - she got the wrong advice from the wrong men - If Obama loses because of anger and dislike of him by the Hillary supporters, he will still be a winner - I don't know about Hillary because she has insulted a large block of democratic voters who will probably exit the party -

[StatsGeek]

Sorry, as much as I would like to have an easy excuse like sexism , I do not. HRC lost me when she "misremembered". When a child tells a fib, we expect them to fess up and try to make amends, not make excuses. HRC could have easily have confessed, admitted wrong, and moved on.
Her negatives are still over 50%, you cannot win if over half the country dislikes you--check my comments months ago. The die was cast from the beginning--HRC is unelectable. It is no surprise that the primary worked out like this. Watch McCain, he will be labeled a flip-flopper--and he will lose--the same reason that HRC did.

[DMBreck]

I am getting sick and tired already about this argument..­......it is B.S. ...Hillary lost my vote when she VOTED for the war.......­....MOST DEMS JUST DONT WANT HER FOR HER MILITANT VOTES AND statements­...... "Good Gwad that's who we are all dying to get RID of! MILITANT MUCHO MACHO IDIOTS....­.bush/chan­ey

[SifSkade]

You and Erica Jong and Gloria Steinem and the Clinton campaign have effectively turned "sexism" into a tired cliche by expanding the definition to cover any criticism of any woman for any reason. Those of us who have to deal with real sexism -- remember that? Doing the same work for less pay? Not getting hired because we might decide to go off and get pregnant? Being harassed on the job? Not having the same rights and privileges as men (and no, I'm sorry, there is no "right" to not have your unsettling laugh described as unsettling)? -- do not thank you at all. Thanks for eviscerating a concept that used to have teeth.

[hapenny]

SifSkade, you speak for me too!

[OliveAndBlack]

Thank you SifSkade--I couldn't have said it better myself. There is a BIG difference between doing the same work as men for less pay and someone wearing a "bros before hoes" t-shirt. When people lump the two together it really dilutes the message of feminism--and makes feminism look whiny and pathetic--which it is not. I am a feminist, and I would have LOVED to see a female president. I would be her biggest supporter and campaigner in fact if it were someone I respected and believed in--someone with integrity, dignity, and class. Mrs. Clinton, however, is sadly not that person. I have a lot of hope for the future though. There are many great women in politics today (love Claire McCaskill for instance!) whose time will hopefully come. But until then, I see the type of character traits and overall integrity that I am looking for in a president in Barack Obama. This country is so lucky that he came along.

[Umungus]

Where is the video of voters stating they refuse to vote for her because she's a woman? I'ver seen lots of video of people stating they couldn't vote for a black man. If people are bold enough to openly state their racism, why haven't we seen sexism on video?

You exaggerate opinions in an attempt to craft a fact. It just wasn't her year. Rationalizing is fine, just stop using sexism as an excuse.

[SifSkade]

Exactly. Especially because according to the Jongs, Steinems, and Sklars of this world, it's much harder to be a woman than to be black because America has given sexism a thumbs-up while frowning at racism (which America they live in I'm not sure, but their viewpoint certainly gives creedence to the notion that the feminist movement is really by, for, and about White women). So, if this is an accurate picture of America, people shouldn't have a problem admitting that they're not voting for Hillary because she's a woman.

Unless, of course, the fact that she's a woman is not one of the reasons people aren't voting for her, a notion that these women dismiss out of hand. Which leaves us with this mindbender: the fact that nobody is pointing to Hillary's gender as a reason not to vote for her is just further proof that they're using Hillary's gender as a reason not to vote for her.

[foufou]

Rachel

It is difficult to be sympathetic to cries about sexism and misogyny from those who are willfully blind to racism in the Clinton campaign or media and/or are willing to play the "race card". It feels like privileged white women crying about their toes being stepped on while many African Americans have been assaulted by the media and campaign by racism and appeals to prejudice. Rachel, as media editor, when will you address those issues or will you just keep complaining that sexism is worse or ignore or not see the racism.

sf

[ReportThis]

Comments about Hillary's overbite, her wide bottom, and her insane cackle are not sexist -- those same traits would disturb me in a man.

[SifSkade]

I mean, George Bush looks like a monkey, and the cartoonists and pundits had a field day with it. Check out Jimmy Carter's teeth. Same thing. Apperance comments aren't indicative of any kind of "-ism" unless you are determined to interpret them that way.

[JamieStarr]

There's no crying in politics..­.

Wasn't Hillary telling us that the heat of the primary was nothing compared to being in the White House? Didn't she also say "if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen?"

Why is Hillary's plight so different from others?

Didn't Kennedy have to overcome prejudice against his religion?
Didn't Romney have to deal with concerns about his religion?
Hasn't Obama had to deal with issues of race more than she's had to deal with issues of gender?

The fact is she was a flawed candidate. It's not like she was clearly the better selection and got pushed out. She lost and it was largely her own fault.

Had she been a better strategist and campaigner­...had she been more honest and genuine...­had she been consistent­...has she been the fighter and not "inevitable", she probably would have won.

But she didn't. It was hers to lose and she lost. No one took this away from her. She just wasn't as good as she thought she was.

[Countess]

Of all the excuses explaining how poorly Hillary Clinton did in this primary season this is by far the weakest. She is a lousy candidate and no amount of gender whining will change that fact. Her campaign was pathetic and her exposure as a neocon ready to use anything and everything to beat Obama not only did not work but it has made it clear why she would lose. She is too republican for democratic voters and thank god for that.

[vernonbc]

Oh lordie, I am so very very tired of any criticism of Hillary being labeled sexism. Women are never ever ever going to reach the heights of power if they are going to be so super sensitive to every comment and so quick to cry victim. It is the absolute worst thing I have hated about the whole Clinton campaign, that she and her supporters cannot look at themselves honestly and accept any responsibility for her own mistakes. Hillary is so damned quick to whine and cry and claim that she's being picked on, that the guys are bullying her, that women should support her just because she's a woman. Well, I'm a woman, and I'd love to support a woman for president, but I want a woman who's achieved her success because she's every damned bit as good as any man and isn't whinging about how tough it is in the boy's club.

[wakupmagy]

I cannot understand the proliferation of posts here decrying Sexism. What is the reason there are so many (Burleigh, Jong, etc) on this site? All the women I know are appalled at the Clinton tactics and are actively supporting Obama. And we're all old enough to remember Jong and the zipless f*ck.

Do I just run with a different crowd or is this how some plan to SwiftBoat Obama? Did someone
actually make a reference to "Sweetie-gate"? This is beyond absurd.

Let's please move on.

[strifeknot]

No one's decrying sexism. We're decrying false claims of sexism from members of a cult of victimhood looking to explain away Hillary's failed campaign by blaming it on sexists rather than on people rejecting an unprincipled, unaccomplished politician who happens to have a vagina.

[wakupmagy]

Oops. I misspoke.

I meant "Crying" Sexism.

I completely agree with you.

I must remember to post a comment after I've had the first cup of coffee.

[davidly]

Maureen Dowd is not responsible for the distaste for Senator Clinton having been expressed so often in sexist terms. Nor is the Senator alone in suffering the brunt of the deep-seated misogynistic and xenophobic nature of the human species. Were she not so clearly representative of the diseased power-politics of so-called Democracy, the infantile aspersions would continue indeed, but they wouldn't be so widespread.

Both Democratic Senators are deeply hated and/or distrusted simply because of their outward appearance. It's true, the fact that I--along with many others--wouldn't vote for either one of them for entirely different reasons doesn't make the problem go away. Look at West Virginia and Kentucky, and you'll find a demographic that will put aside its misogyny just long enough to heartily express their xenophobia. Come general election time, thousands that voted for Senator Clinton will once again express their hatred of women.

The vitriol (word of the year, no?) spewed mostly by semi-anonymous blog commenters is an indication that progress in human relations will probably only go so far. We live in a puerile society incapable of growing up. I think the Peter Principle applies here.

[Piatt]

There's certainly sexism and racisim aplenty in this campaign. My problem with Hillary is not her gender. My problems with Hillary are her lying, her divisiveness, her pandering, her unwillingness to assume responsibility for her own actions and decisions, and her belief that the rules change when they don't work to her advantage. We've had sixteen years of this cyncial nonsense in The White House and enough is enough.

I'm a GWM Obama supporter who looks forward to the day that we have a woman President. Hillary's not the one.

[talamone]

"My problems with Hillary are her lying, her divisiveness, her pandering, her unwillingness to assume responsibility for her own actions and decisions, and her belief that the rules change when they don't work to her advantage.­"

That's funny. That's what I think of Obama.

[JamieStarr]

Of course you do.

But you certainly can't argue that Hillary hasn't been all of those things:

Lying - Bosnia
Divisive - McCain and I have years of experience, Obama has a speech
Pandering - Gas Tax Holiday
Rules Change - Florida/Michigan, Traditional Democratic states, big states, swing states, Superdelegates, map not the math

[JoeSun]

Sure you do. The only difference, of course, is that Obama wins.