Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Feminist Bull*&$%

An article in the Washington Post yesterday made me really mad. It talks about the NOW (Natl Org of Women) effort to elect Hillary Clinton. This regional director of NOW said that Hillary isn't winning because of sexism. She said that people are voting for Barack over Hillary because they don't want a woman President. Her quote was "Would they like a white man instead of a black man? Of course. But they'll take a black man over a woman." This just SO pisses me off.

Do I believe there are people who will not vote for a woman President? Absolutely. But please, Obama is black. Racism is, in my opinion, a much bigger problem in this country. I have certainly experienced sexism. My first job on the Hill, I was in an admin job trying to get into a legislative job. The chief of staff, my colleagues, were all trying to help me get one. They all said I'd be great at it. Then there was an opening in our office - I figured I was a shoe in. And they didn't even interview me. I stormed into the COS office fuming. He quietly explained that they all thought I knew - the aged white man who was our boss wouldn't accept legislative advice from a woman. While that was the most blatant experience I had, there have certainly been more. But to suggest that not voting for Hillary is sexist is just nuts. The NOW director even suggests that Barack pulling out Hillary's chair before the debates is somehow sexist. "You can bet that's a calculated move," Wagner said, "and it's absolutely demeaning." Demeaning?? Where I come from its called manners. And very nice ones at that.

Now don't get me wrong - I think there are many legitimate reasons to support Hillary Clinton. But her being a woman is NOT one of them. In the same way, there many legitimate reasons to oppose Hillary. Being a woman is not one of them. I am not supporting Barack Obama because he is a man, just like I am not opposing Hillary because she is a woman.

We all need to vote for the candidate we think we do the best job for the country. I guess this really bothers me because I consider myself a pretty liberal feminist. But this is just crap.

3 comments:

Shelli said...

You just summed up my thoughts on this matter. I get soooo annoyed at some of the chit chat in the media over the woman vs. black man thing.

I am voting for who I think is ready to lead this country in the right direction. I could give a rats ass what sex or color they are.

Also- off topic, thank you for always visiting my blog and supporting my personal drama-filled life. I always say, that if it wasn't for my blogging friends, I'd be in real trouble. ;-)

Julie said...

I'll have to go look for that article - I agree, that's crap.

Jill said...

I will have to say that there are probably SOME people out there that dont vote for HC because of her sex/gender. Just like race for BO. While I agree that it would be great if everyone voted on issues, that's just not the way of the world. Oh I wish it was!

I must admit though that I did see and hear a lot of the sexism through the very beginnings of the campaign to around about the time of our caucus in Iowa. After New Hampshire, it all quit. Just ask my husband, go ahead. He'll tell you. The way she was treated versus the other candidates at first was easy to spot. As time has worn on and she's proven herself as a candidate, I haven't seen any more.
From someone who saw approximately one million commercials and news stories and etc from June 07-Jan of 08 and beyond...