If you've been watching the cable news boyz, you've surely noticed that Matthews, Olbermann and Shuster are obsessing about Sarah Palin the way they once did about Hillary. Clearly, they hate Sarah Palin as much as they once hated Hillary. Now that Hillary is standing behind their man, like a good woman should, they're starting to almost like her. Pardon me while I cackle.
I think it's safe to assume that those in charge of the national discourse are going to denigrate and vilify any woman who presents a threat to the male monopoly on power. The American people may be ready for a woman president, but the American men who are in charge of pretty well everything in this cowboy country continue to have a serious fear of female power.
In an interview with The Hindu, Jodi Enda, journalist and feminist activist, weighs in on the onslaught of misogynistic U.S. media coverage that worked to defeat Hillary Clinton's campaign and what it bodes for the feminist movement:
“Hillary Clinton was treated in a way that no man would ever be treated as a Presidential candidate,” said Ms. Enda. For instance, she said, consider the terms ‘too ambitious’ and ‘calculating’ chosen to describe her.
Anyone who runs for President would be ambitious, said Ms. Enda. Calculating means that she tried to figure out the best way to get ahead. Barack Obama too calculated. He in fact, “out-calculated and outmanoeuvred Ms. Clinton.” But, in a man being ambitious and calculating were not considered as negative traits.
A relatively unknown fact is that Mitt Romney, one of the candidates for the Republican nomination, cried. “No one spoke about this. But the treatment is different for a woman,” said Ms. Enda, referring to the reaction of the media when Ms. Clinton’s eyes misted on one occasion.
Though Ms. Clinton did make a lot of mistakes, the effect of such coverage on her losing the campaign could not be discounted, surmised Ms. Enda. “Sexism undercut and undermined Hillary Clinton’s campaign,” she said. “It was an unpleasant awakening to see that America still had such a strong gender bias.”
The battle for equal rights was really fought by women who are now in their sixties, seventies and eighties, said Ms. Enda. “They paid the price for all of us.” Women in their 40s and 50s benefited and, “we appreciate that,” she said. “Younger women have a slightly different attitude,” she added. They do not always realise what a battle it has been. “They know it intellectually, but do not feel it.” . .
“People who run things in the United States, be it in the government or corporations, are men,” said Ms. Enda. “We have won the battle for equality in numbers. The next is equality in power.”
"But if you ever saw the language, the vulgarity, the vitriol that is hurled at Hillary Clinton by liberal Democrats, by the liberal blogs, largely by frankly Obama supporters, um, you'd be appalled. I mean you would punish your children for this."
Graphic of The New Republic (TNR) covers
Feminist Politics Gender News Equality Male Domination Misogyny Hillary Clinton Sexism Barack Obama Sarah Palin Feminist Trailblazers Women's History
