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Hillary Clinton is Running Against Far More Than Donald Trump

If you’re out there and you’re wondering whether or not you’re a man, there’s a fairly reliable test:

If you watched last night’s Presidential debate and didn’t see the gender double standard on full, glorious display—you’re probably a man.

If you didn’t wince at Donald Trump continually interrupting Hillary Clinton to talk her down and derail her direct, coherent, and informed responses to questions—you’re probably a man.

If you didn’t notice moderator Lester Holt’s massive, marshmallow kid gloves in response to it all—you’re probably a man.

If you didn’t notice that the bulk of the critique of Hillary’s performance following the debate has consisted of commentary on her hair, weight, and makeup, or thinly veiled shots at her voice or her “likeability”—you’re probably a man.

Hillary Clinton isn’t only running against Donald Trump right now.

If that were the case, this election would already have been decided.

She’s running against a whole lot more than that.

She’s running against the idea that a woman needs to be soft and sweet and thin to be a woman.

She’s running against a rising, but still oppressive glass ceiling, guarded by lots of really scared dudes sitting on top of it.

She’s running against the idea that a woman’s contributions simply aren’t worth as much as a man’s, financially or substantively.

She’s running against beauty pageants and pornography and rape culture that reduce women to their physicality and disregard their intellect. 

She’s running against pink, taffeta covered toy aisles that tell young girls what they can and should aspire to.

She’s running against an ol’ boys club that is literally filled with ol’ boys who want it to stay that way.

She’s running against millions of fragile men who won’t tolerate a woman telling them what to do, whether at home, at work, in church—let alone in the White House.

She’s running against far too many women who have learned not to question any of the above.

When we elected our first African-American President, that didn’t eliminate racism in our country. If anything, it nurtured it among those most resistant to equality, and caused them to double down to disgusting, abhorrent effect. It has largely birthed the very election we have in front of us and the ugly unrest in our country. It’s the reason so many white people can’t say that black lives matter, without a qualifier.

The same thing is happening to Hillary Clinton right now by those, who whether they can admit it or not, don’t believe women are as valuable as men are. They’re using all manner of deflection to conceal the fact, but it’s there just the same; the surface critiques, the gender stereotypes, the “know your place” condescension.

Regardless of our politics, we should be honest about what we’re seeing right now. We’re seeing an experienced, highly qualified, intelligent, confident woman, being treated as if those things are somehow liabilities.

We’re seeing men still trying to define womanhood for women.

I want my daughter to grow up believing she can be President. I want her to grow up believing she can be anything she damn well wants to; that she can be as tough or loud or overweight or abrasive as a man and not be unfairly penalized for it. I want her to grow up believing that she is a woman because she says so, not because anyone else consents to it.

I don’t know whether Hillary Clinton will win this election or not, but I hope the America we are becoming, will be one where women who want to run for President, need only run against their political opponents, and not their very identities.

 

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