Little Women: A Sad, Sad Story of Stereotypes

"For Gawd's sake-- Y'all don't tell mama her parakeet is dead! When she finds out, that woman won't be fit to live with for a week!" -- Southern sexist wit and wisdom

Hillary Clinton's loss is a tough one for those women who identified so completely with her candidacy that anything other than a win is both unimaginable and unbearable It's especially tough for baby boomer feminists, who grew up hearing our mothers referred to as "the little woman" or "the weaker sex." God, we hated that! So, from the moment "sexism" was adopted as the root word in the Clinton Camp's political lexicon, Little Women from coast to coast put up their dukes. This was no ordinary race for the Democratic nomination. This was war. Surrender was not an option.

An army of Clinton women seems to have forgotten the difference between a fight to the finish and a fight to the death.

Hillary's defiance on the evening of Tuesday, June 3rd made matters worse. Her refusal to offer any sort of concession speech, her "You can't make me..." attitude and the tacit threat of what she might do with "eighteen million votes" was self-centered, self-serving self-promotion. It wasn't pretty. The blowback hasn't been any prettier.

Clinton surrogates defended her non-concession speech to a fare-thee-well. They redefined campaign etiquette:

"This should be Hillary's night..." New rule: The nominee has not earned the right to a night of his/her own..

"She knows she lost...she will concede...she will help unify the party, endorse Obama and work her little heart out...BUT...This is really, really hard; Hillary needs time to get used to the idea of losing...She needs to decompress. We owe her that time...and kindness...and understanding...and patience...so she'll feel better..." New rule: It's different world now that Democrats of both genders are equally viable candidates. But the woman only has to concede if and when she feels up to it.

It ain't over until HRC says it's over. Under pressure from the NY Delegation and others to get this Democratic show on the road, Hillary finally says she'll give up the ghost. On Friday, June 6th. No. Make that Friday, June 6th and Saturday, June 7th. This is really, really hard, remember? It takes days and days and days...

Meanwhile, Mother Nature does abhor a vacuum. In the space between non-concession and concession, Little Women by the thousands are rallying the troops. This ain't over yet. No Way We'll Vote For That Man! websites are springing up like Republican men at an Anti-Choice Convention.

One woman offered this pearl of wisdom to the rest of them: "We can tolerate four years of John McCain--then Hillary can run again and win in 2012!"

Ah. Little Women. Here's what they're willing to do:

Little Women will sacrifice the reproductive rights of their sisters, daughters and granddaughters for a generation.

Little Women will sacrifice 47 million uninsured Americans for at least another four years.

Little Women will tolerate corporate welfare at the expense of the working poor.

Little Women will tolerate a minimum wage that guarantees poverty, hunger, homelessness.

And worse, Little Women will sacrifice the blood of thousands more of our husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters to the Bush/McCain vision of "winning the war" in Iraq.

This is feminism? This is what Hillary Rodham Clinton's amazing race inspires women to do? At the end of the day, then, what has Senator Clinton done for the Women's Movement? How did we get here?

I'm sixty years old. I've been around the political block more times than I care to admit. I can't recall a time--ever--that any man who lost a close election demanded "time to adjust to the pain of losing" before conceding. Hillary lost a close one and got a case of the vapors. Little Women responded in like manner. Senator Clinton needs to roll up her sleeves and get this cart out of the ditch--in no uncertain terms.

Damn. Can't you hear it? Every red-blooded, gen-yoo-ine, knuckle-draggin' sexist in America is snickering, "Now, ain't that just like a woman?"

Comments

[paragrafH]

Oh, thank you from the bottom of my heart for saying this and saying this exactly the way you have done.

Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times YES! I've found myself replying to blogs all over the place trying to make the points you have done. Why is this article only on OTB? I don't recall seeing it in the main stream of blogs -- and the low number of responses shows it couldn't have been.

Anyway, it's over -- more or less -- for now.

I recall a first-year Ms Magazine cover drawn in comic book style that read: "Do you know if the Women's Movement have a sense of humor?" "No, but hum a few bars and I'll fake it."

I'm a 60-year-old woman and I'm ready to take back feminism from THAT Little Woman!

[S1m0n]

Hillary commitment to feminism was never more obvious than when she permitted her friends in the NY office of NOW to smear Barack Obama with the false allegation that votes he'd taken at the behest of NARAL were anti-abortion. In so doing, they betrayed feminism by stabbing one of its allies in the back.

No matter what the cause, people will be less willing to help you achieve it if their reward is a knife in the back.

What this showed was for Hillary EVERYTHING, including women's right to abortion, is subordinate to her ambition. People have cited a lot of different 'last straw' moments regarding Hillary Clinton's conduct in this election, but this one is mine.

[MaryNotMartha]

Bravo Linda -

Did you mention the Supreme Court? If these ladies have their way John McCain will give us a Supreme Court that will tilt to the far right. That'll impact voting rights, worker rights, discrimination against women in the workplace and sexual harassment and more.

I've got to wonder if some of these women aren't a part of Rush's Operation Chaos. I hate to think that my fellow Smith, Mt Holyoke, Radcliffe, Bryn Mawr and Wellesley sisters are a part of this campaign of hate.

[bluevillage]

Moreover, she had weeks, if not months, to prepare for her loss. She had to have known it was over long ago.

[XME]

Doubtful..­.Clintons live in their own reality. She probably didn't even consider the possibility that she wouldn't or hadn't won until her supporters all went to her on Wednesday to TELL her she'd lost. I think she honestly thought she'd have the support to go to Denver and have supers rally behind her.

[paragrafH]

It was reported on Olberman Wednesday that SHE WAS SURPRISED to learn that she had so little support remaining among congressional colleagues!!!!!!!

This whole thing has set feminism back decades!

[jupitor]

That's what I've been trying to say to her women supporters. What they are doing , also hurts Hillary as well as all us women, and the next generation of women! Who will ever want another woman to run, and get in this race again? She has polarized her supporters and has not help them understand there was always a chance she could lose! They thought after that tuesday speech, that she was going to go all the way to Denver or do a Independent thing for them! She allowed them to think that! Now they are angry and believe her that this election was stolen from her. they blame obama and the DNC and the delegates and super delegates. If she can't unravel this crazy mess and get her spupporters to back Obama, and God help us all he lose's----­----Histor­y will not treat her kindly. So far I see nothing good on her web sight to talk her supporters into comeing back to the party. So far she hasn't even tried. So let's hope Sat. is the Best day of all of our lifes.

[paragrafH]

I agree. And I resent HRC and her rabid fans' contentions of sexism on the part of people who have been simply pointing out her mis-steps. There may have been some -- but some of what there was was probably in reaction to her Little Woman act.

[ButterflyWeed]

I give up on 'over' and declare her 'through'. Someone ask Huckabee how much second place cost him and his party.

[luckismine]

Thanks for putting into words why I was so inexplicably pissed off (!) on Tuesday night even though my candidate won the nomination.

The evening made me think of my brother-in-law's (then) girl friend who was once determined to get a ring out of the poor guy, no matter his desire to marry her or not. Out of spite, she wore a long, white dress as his guest to MY wedding.

Tueday night, Hillary tried to throw her own damn bouquet and too many women rushed to cheer her on.

[presto]

That was a really snarky, needless attack. Hillary's "woman-ness" was hardly the reason for her battling for as long as she possibly could. If you are 60 years old, perhaps you slept through the 1980 primary season when Ted Kennedy was far, far less gracious and no one accused him of acting like a woman. That's just absurd.

Kennedy was losing by 700 delegates when Carter was running for re-election, and he was an incumbent president, for God's sake. Kennedy did not exactly step back and demurely concede to his opponent like a lady should, according to you. He fought all the way to the convention and would barely even acknowledge Carter up on the stage the last night of the convention.

If you are looking for reasons for Hillary's stand this week, try politics, not hormones. That's the way it works.

[redplanet]

presto: We don't have to use someone else's mistake (if you see it as that) as an excuse for Hillary's lack of wisdom in how she grandstanded. I hang my head in shame...as a white boomer woman...fo­r what she did to Senator Obama.

Hilary's entire campaign was ruthless, tacky and she fueled her sense of entitlement by playing on the emotions of millions of women who have been victims of sexism from the day they were born. Hillary is a con artist and like their mothers before them, boomer women got conned by someone promising either matrimony or palimony or in this case, liberation by politics,

Hillary's crew can't stop crying victim. It isn't a pretty sight. It makes us all look so damn whiny.

This was a spot on essay. It won't be liked by those who can't let go of the delusion Hillary created, but change is never easy.

[paragrafH]

VERY well said. This blog -- and most of it's commenters -- are making me feel better than I have since Tuesday. This blog was written Friday and it's now Saturday and she's finally come up with something of a speech that sounded right but still rang inauthentic to me. Had to be. You don't turn the page that fast from where she was Tuesday. And speaking of needing to be able to wrap her mind around losing before conceding, how on earth does that propensity make her anywhere near ready to answer a White House phone at 3 p.m. let alone 3 a.m. Tacky, vicious and inauthentic campaign from start to finish.

[RebaG]

You're right. Hillary's non-concession was, like Ted's 1980 behavior, just politics. But, when her supporters provide cover by arguing that she just needs time to get over her loss, THAT is sexism in action. Those supporters do nothing but confirm what some already believe -- women can't take it. THAT makes this woman livid! A real woman gets up, brushes herself off, and moves on to the next challenge.

[Forsetti]

How did that turn out for the Democratic Party? It doesn't matter what the reasons are, whether it is politics, sex, personality or a combo platter, how she behaved on Tues. cannot be justified. And the more people try and justify it the more they enable her and her supporters. Their frustration of missing out on having the first female presidential nominee is understandable. The anger, bitterness and willingness to turn their backs on all that Hillary has worked for over the course of her political life, is not.

[katemadison]

Thank you, Linda. I don't think I can ever forgive or forget Hillary's divisive campaign tactics or her behavior Tuesday night. Looking at her actions from a non-political view, this old female feminist is appalled by what she and her supporters (I am not a traitor, Ms. Steinem) have done to the cause of feminism.

"I'm your girl!" No, Hillary, you are an adult woman. This is good for feminism?

'She needs time.' Right. Because no one in the world has ever failed to earn the nomination s/he campaigned for. Oh, wait. Other people have failed to reach their dream. I don't remember ANY of them refusing to acknowledge someone else won and saying they needed time to decide what to do next.

Tears in New Hampshire - not for the war in Iraq or the lack of universal health care or poverty - but for herself. Yep. Girls cry when things aren't going well for them.

With supporters like Ferraro saying sexism was worse than racism, the campaign kept kicking us in the face with the belief that Hillary was the victim. A woman can't win because she is a woman (with apologies to Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, et al).

I didn't fight all the battles I fought for EQUAL rights for women (not superior rights) so the first viable female candidate for president could behave like a petulant child. Get some cojones, Hillary (I would never use that description for a woman....b­ut Terry McAuliffe did).

[Leota2]

You nailed it!
This campaign cycle has made me cringe as a feminist.
Even some of my friends who are supporters of Clinton are
embarrassed about June3rd--a date that will be imprinted on
our collective memories for good and bad, but should definitely
embarrass Clinton.

I'm 46. Is this what my mother fought for and I continue
to fight for . . .A supposed feminist-- needing time to get over
it?! Disgraceful . . . .

[breakfast]

The next President will probably appoint two, maybe four Supreme Court Justices. No doubt the Little Women will just love McCain's picks.

[blaqntelligence]

Dead on!

This hysteria has done more damage to women than all the "Now, ain't that just like a woman?" women have had to endure.
And they did it to themselves­....Althou­gh they will blame it on every one except themselves.

[FormerSandlapper]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Hillary and Bill will do all they can to see that Barack Obama beats John McCain. Hillary's problem is that she cannot accept that she lost since she was once a sure thing. It's understandable.