There is a lot of talk right now about “Hillary’s women” and how the two remaining candidates can win them over.
Americans try so hard to act as though we are so far beyond the emotional baggage of race and gender and yet few of us pack as lightly when we travel as we think.
The wound that has been inflicted by Hillary’s defeat is not so much the result of Obama winning but the result of how Hillary was treated in the process of her defeat.
Reading this, many will think (and will probably respond) that they did not dislike Hillary because of her gender but because of her character. The problem, however, is that her gender was used to undermine her stature as a presidential candidate; it was used in satire and in personalized attacks. It was a fundamental characteristic about herself that she cannot change that was used to ridicule or debase her in a way that has not been done to McCain (re: his age) or Obama (re: his race).
Hence the message or conclusion to some women that sexism is still acceptable and racism and age-ism are not. Consider the chanting at her speech: “iron my shirt.† Or the questions to McCain about how he plans “beat the bitch.† Or, my personal favorite, the Hillary “nutcracker?” Â
Consider the allegation on the part of Chris Mathews that Hillary only became a Senator and Presidential candidate because Bill Clinton cheated on her. Never mind the fact that she had years of successful legal practice and her involvement in politics before she married Bill Clinton. Hillary is not the first women to put her own career temporarily aside for her husband (military spouses do it all the time, as do women with small children), nor will she be the last. I doubt that Bill’s infidelity was the source of the State of New York’s faith in Hillary as a Senator.Personally, I have never understood why Hillary was expected to step down after Obama won Iowa.  After he won Iowa, FOR GOD’S SAKE. She won New Hampshire and they were already calling for her to step aside. I remembering thinking, “well, why not ask HIM to step aside?”
Yes, she was and is disliked because of WHO she is and not WHAT she is (a woman). However, her gender was nonetheless used to portray her in negative ways and/or to tap into stereotypes that many people still have about women.  (The Bitch is Back.)  Consequently, some women are angry because nobody called the media out on it: ignoring it makes you complicit in it.  As with racism, silence is acquiescence. Silence says it is okay–at least if we don’t like you.
Could you imagine jokes and comments based upon McCain’s age? Jokes about urinary incontinence and whether he can still get it up for Cindy and what will happen in the White House if he can’t?  Or what if he gets lost in the White House once Alzheimer’s sets in?
Or comments at an Obama speech: “Wash my car!” (Or whatever the equivalent in a racist situation would be—I can’t think of anything, sorry.)
This hasn’t happened because there is a collective sense that those things would be deemed unacceptable while the things that were done to Hillary were acceptable. Thus, sexist imagery, humor, and commentary must be less offensive as it caused little to no reaction from anyone other than the women who supported Hillary. This is where the allegation of sexism comes from by Hillary supporters.
The images utilizing Hillary’s gender and the comments referencing her gender when attacking her did, in fact, transcend the target (Hillary) and hit the hearts of thousands, if not millions, of women and girls who were witnessing it. Therein lies the tragedy of Hillary’s candidacy and the wound inflicted by her defeat.
Had she won the nomination, perhaps the damage could have been minimized or at least overshadowed by the greater good of electing the first female President of the United States. Without that, all we are left with are the insults, the denigration, and the images. Which brings me to the mourning.
I remember living in San Francisco when the DNC had their convention in 1984. Geraldine Ferraro was the Vice Presidential candidate and I was 11 years old. My mother made a huge deal out of that. She told me that maybe, someday, I could be the President of the United States. I remember my mother crying.
In college in DC, I had a chance to intern at the White House. I got to choose where to work and I chose the First Lady’s Correspondence Office (the only non-Presidential office and the only office with the First Lady). I really liked Hillary Clinton for her work as an attorney and with the Children’s Defense Fund. I remember meeting her and thinking she should run for President.I am not saying now that I was a Hillary supporter, but during this primary season, I can tell you that more than once I have been angered and frustrated by the inequities in how she was treated by the media.
So now Hillary has ended her candidacy and hundreds of thousands of women are devastated. These women chose Hillary for reasons that are greater and deeper than her policy positions; these women identified with Hillary’s ability to persevere and prevail over humiliations, public and private. For this, they believed in her, they trusted her, they saw themselves in her. A victory for Hillary was a victory for them. Her loss was their loss.
Her loss was our loss.
And they are in mourning.
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry uplike a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Langston Hughes
I suggest that both Obama and McCain tread carefully.
Carissa Picard is a freelance writer, an attorney, and a military spouse. She is currently a political correspondent for www.military.com, the President of Military Spouses for Change, and the founder of Military Spouse Press.
10 users commented in " Hillary’s Women: A Dream Deferred "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI disagree completely with the above article please give specifics of when her being a women was used by the other side, APART from when SHE cried and that was used against her; but used FOR her by her own team. You airly wave your hand and say “However, her gender was nonetheless used to portray her in negative ways and/or to tap into stereotypes that many people still have about women” and your references to abusive statements against her. However NONE of those were used by main stream media, black attacks were used by republican media, with it being veiled as why he wouldnt go down well with whites. I feel there has been more show of RACISM than of SEXISM this primary season. BUT you never heard Obama’s people making a huge song and dance of it every time they lost a majority white state.
What’s annoying is that feminists aren’t saying yes she lost due to everything about her, not just her being a woman, but her nasty politics (that when used by her are called ‘fighting spirit’ and when implied to be used by Obama are called ‘dirty politics’), and her personality.
They are saying, you included, that she lost BECAUSE she is a women, and that alone; there is some huge conspiracy against her. Shifting the blame for her LOSS from her to this huge anti female conspiracy. SHE was the first to start pigeon holing the candidates so she could make Obama the BLACK candidate.
Making him the BLACK MALE candidate inevitably lost him votes, as im sure making herself the WHITE WOMAN candidate probably lost her some as well, but dont start moaning about it now its over when she was the one who drew most attention to pigeon holing candidates.
One of Obama’s largest supporting groups are the intellectual liberals, and youth, both groups are less guided by ‘grouping’ mentality than pro Hilary’s moaning feminists would have us believe.
NOW I SAY IGNORE THIS ‘HER LOSS IS OUR LOSS’ NONSENSE, HER LOSS IS HER LOSS, AND YOU HAVE LOSS NOTHING WHILST YOUR MIND IS FREE.
SEE BEYOND THE MEDIA, MAKE YOUR OWN MIND UP NOW THAT HILARY IS GONE.
MAKE THE CHOICE AND LET THE INFIGHTING STOP, THE BLAME GAME STOP!
compare both McCain and Obama unbiasly and make your vote without being guided by group politics.
“Hillary Clinton endorses Obama” Theater, explained worldwide only by End Times ProphetDespite the fact that I explained the script for the cheap illuminati theater ”Comeback kid Clinton ‘elected’ the last president of the US” aka”BushClinton, the last antichrist”, and ”Clinton suspends campaign, endorses Obama” as the final chapter before the curtain falls (1), the sheep don’t get a thing.Clinton suspends campaign, endorses Obama” theater explained
This is nothing but an act to sell better Clinton, using the mind control technique of acceptance by association.
To better sell the “victory” of 5 pct Clinton, she is previously (i.e. now) sold as the candidate who, despite having received “more votes” (2), was a “victim of the delegates system”, and yet was such a “fair player” by calling her “crowd” to fully stand behind Obama.
So when next the curtain will fall, it will be easier to have the sheep cheering what they just watched on stage.
In other words: when after the coming “scandal” chapter “forcing” Obama to exit the “race”, he will appeal to his crowd to “stand with all their forces behind Clinton against McCain”.
As I explained previously, the sheep are long past the point of still having any chance to understand any illuminati theater until they will be slaughtered.
Because they accepted to carry the mark of the beast.
Notes
(1) All has been explained long ago:
http://last-antichrist.blogspot.com/2007/05/hillary-clinton-2008-for-dummies-two.html
http://end-times-data.blogspot.com/2008/02/loser-john-mccain-to-clinton-horrible.html
http://end-times-prophet.blogspot.com/2008/02/hours-before-hillary-clinton-will-be.html
http://end-times-computers.blogspot.com/2007/05/ronpaul2008com-barackobamacom.html
(2) This is how the illuminati media sells the ca. one million votes Clinton got in the primaries, as she “concedes”: “About 18 million people voted for Clinton. It was the closest a woman has come to capturing a political party nomination for the presidency.” (Associated Press – June 7)
One point: on HBO’s Politically Incorrect, Bill Maher has repeatedly made fun of McCain’s age the most, along with Obama’s race. I suspect when the show returns in August, this will continue. Jokes are being made about ALL of the candidates by several comedians. It just depends on where you look.
Bill Mayer is a commedian. Please watch the above.
Okay, try this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eseoMOEaFnM
This is remminiscent of the split that occurred between within the women’s rights movement surrounding the 15th Amendment (granting African American men the right to vote). You may recall that Sojourner Truth was one who joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in opposing the Amendment.
But it is all so complicated in American politics and American history. The feminist and african american communities are close and always have been. It is sad when these splits occur or perceived forced choices happen. I hated seeing Obama and Hillary run against each other like this.
Thank you so much for the superbly well written and true article…I think the media totally dropped the ball and America will pay the price for it for years to come. Obama has never been vetted even yet and still the massses idol him. Someone they know nothing about and someone with no absolute plans to back up his message of change…He has a bitter wife{ just take the time to read her thesis} and I have already heard tons of people saying it will be Michelle running the White House…Here’s the thing. Without HRC chosen to be his VP Obama will never be elected President…His rehersed rhetoric is already getting old and instead of sounding uplifting as some might call it he is actually starting to drone on with his fake smile..We all want change. However there are still several months to go before election day and between the Republicans tearing Obama up and all of Hillary’s voters that WILL NOT VOTE FOR HIM there is no way he can beat McCain…I hear he is intelligent. I hope he utilizes that intelligence and chooses HRC to ensure we once again have a Democrat for a President. The media did nothing other than ignore, bereat, belittle and demoralize HRC..I always tht the media was supposed to report the news. NOT DABBLE IN POLITICS and change the entire outcome of an election. Shame on them for not doing their true job…BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW.. A vote for Obama is a vote for McCain. Who is Obama anyway???Why does no one demand to find this stuff out??We are no longer playing a game..This is our COUNTRY…
AN UNFORTUNATE TREND –
POLITICS OF REACTION
—
Voters for almost a generation, have voted against sitting Presidents, rather than FOR a new candidate.
http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2008/06/politics-of-reaction.html
I think analogous remarks would be “shine my shoes”, and references to watermelon, fried chicken and colt 45.
Oh, statements indicating Barack craved white women and was an affirmative action student should be included.
The N word is too strong…bitch is not as damaging, because some women,myself included, embrace the word. But if Obama were routinely called a coon,and a sambo and a bush bunny and a spade…well we’re getting close to what Hillary was subjected to daily.
Very well written and thoughtful article. Your Mother’s tears back in 84 hit home for me. I cried too as I hoisted my 9 year old niece up on my hip and implored her to “remember this day, Molly.” Thankfully, 24 years later, she does.
Thank you.
Hillary’s women should recall that their candidate fired her woman campaign manager and kept Mark Penn (even tho he got demoted ostensibly fired he helped write her Saturday speech). Penn was the one who wanted her to do all those Karl Rove things. Patti Solis Doyle got dumped and Clinton listened to the wrong people. It was her nomination to lose and she lost it. Obama’s campaign has offered Doyle a job. So who’s the feminist?
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