Last night, I was angry. So angry, in fact, that I proceeded to go off on a Twitter rant for about 15 minutes, which is something I don't really do, because nobody really pays attention to me on Twitter. But for once, I had good reason to be Twanting (Twitter ranting? I don't know, I'm trying to be clever). It came to my attention earlier in the evening that former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, had said some...annoying...things at a rally for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Let me preface the rest of this blog post by saying that I have nothing personally against Clinton's campaign--I honestly believe that she is a strong candidate who would do a good job as POTUS...that being said, #FeelTheBern.
Ms. Albright, someone who I've never heard anything negative about since she was Bill Clinton's SoS, said the following to conclude her endorsement of Mrs. Clinton, which included a criticism of young women who are choosing to not support Hillary Clinton:
"Just remember...there's a special place in Hell for women who don't help each other."
Okay.
Here's the thing, Ms. Albright--there is also a "special place in Hell," to borrow your phrase, for women who tear each other down for not sharing the same beliefs as you and your constituents. There is a "special place in Hell" for people who underestimate the intelligence and integrity of young millennial women, simply because of their age and because of the (largely exaggerated and false) stereotypes that have arisen over the past few years as people in my generation have come of age. Albright's quip about us young, female Sanders supporters is essentially an insinuation that we are somehow lesser than our counterparts who are backing Clinton. Her whole argument is entirely contradictory, because by saying such a negative thing about women who "don't help each other," Albright is doing the very thing she claims would send a woman to Hell!!! The entire point of the "democracy" we live in is that we are allowed to share different views than our friends, families, and neighbors. We may not like it, but that's how it works--that's how having agency as a human being works! And to Hillary Clinton--telling women that they are going to go to Hell if they don't vote for you is a hella twisted way to get them to vote for you in the upcoming primary elections.
MOVING ON TO GLORIA STEINEM.
As I'm sure plenty of you have heard, Gloria Steinem, who has openly endorsed Hillary Clinton, recently said in an interview with Bill Maher that young women are only supporting Bernie Sanders to "meet guys."
“When you’re young, you’re thinking, ‘Where are the boys? The boys are with Bernie,’ ”
This was so disappointing (and infuriating) for me to hear last night. Gloria Steinem, one of the strongest and most influential feminist icons in history, is reducing her arguments against Senator Sanders' candidacy to ones that are misogynist and, quite frankly, sexist. Assuming that women in their 20s are only supporting Bernie Sanders because they think they'll meet guys is destructive and not conducive to creating a productive dialogue about the role feminism plays in the upcoming election! Not to mention the fact that Steinem's declaration completely discounts all queer young women who are supporting Sen. Sanders, hiding behind heteronormative assumptions that are just plain wrong.
Now, I completely understand the importance of feminists like Steinem and Albright, but we need to move past this First Wave Feminist crap that is reductive in that it takes away from the strides feminism has taken since our foremothers brought our fight to the front of the line! There was a time when radical feminists believed that trans women were not "real" women, and that they were simply men trying to invade their feminine space in a different way. WE. ARE. PAST. THAT. POINT. As feminists and politically aware young men and women, we deserve to have our right to choose whomever we want to vote for in the upcoming election. It's as simple as this: You cannot claim to be a champion of women or to be a progressive feminist if you are going to shit on other women because you don't agree with them. You cannot say that women should be voting for Hillary Clinton simply because she is also a woman, because the entire point of everything we've been fighting for is the equality of the sexes, and with that equality comes the freedom for women to vote for ANYBODY THEY WANT TO, be it Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, or god damn Big Bird.
Do not bring us back another thirty years, Mss. Albright, Steinem, and Clinton. Millennial feminists, First through Third Wave feminists...we have all worked too hard for our identities to be reduced to nothing more than young women who are obsessed with finding a man, willing to throw each other under the bus in order to get our way.
And guess what? I may be #FeelingTheBern, but that does not mean that I will demonize you for supporting Hillary Clinton, or any other candidates for that matter (though it will be hard for me to look you in the eyes if you support Donald Trump or Ted Cruz...let's be real).
UPDATE: Gloria Steinem posted a clarification about her comments on Bill Maher on her Facebook page:
"In a case of talk-show Interruptus, I misspoke on the Bill Maher show recently, and apologize for what's been misinterpreted as implying young women aren't serious in their politics. What I had just said on the same show was the opposite: young women are active, mad as hell about what's happening to them, graduating in debt, but averaging a million dollars less over their lifetimes to pay it back. Whether they gravitate to Bernie or Hillary, young women are activist and feminist in greater numbers than ever before."
I'm happy to see that Ms. Steinem reacted so well to the backlash that must've taken her by storm this morning. Be that as it may, my opinions remain unchanged about what she originally said (misspoken or not) and about Madeleine Albright's comments.
Let me preface the rest of this blog post by saying that I have nothing personally against Clinton's campaign--I honestly believe that she is a strong candidate who would do a good job as POTUS...that being said, #FeelTheBern.
Ms. Albright, someone who I've never heard anything negative about since she was Bill Clinton's SoS, said the following to conclude her endorsement of Mrs. Clinton, which included a criticism of young women who are choosing to not support Hillary Clinton:
"Just remember...there's a special place in Hell for women who don't help each other."
Okay.
Here's the thing, Ms. Albright--there is also a "special place in Hell," to borrow your phrase, for women who tear each other down for not sharing the same beliefs as you and your constituents. There is a "special place in Hell" for people who underestimate the intelligence and integrity of young millennial women, simply because of their age and because of the (largely exaggerated and false) stereotypes that have arisen over the past few years as people in my generation have come of age. Albright's quip about us young, female Sanders supporters is essentially an insinuation that we are somehow lesser than our counterparts who are backing Clinton. Her whole argument is entirely contradictory, because by saying such a negative thing about women who "don't help each other," Albright is doing the very thing she claims would send a woman to Hell!!! The entire point of the "democracy" we live in is that we are allowed to share different views than our friends, families, and neighbors. We may not like it, but that's how it works--that's how having agency as a human being works! And to Hillary Clinton--telling women that they are going to go to Hell if they don't vote for you is a hella twisted way to get them to vote for you in the upcoming primary elections.
MOVING ON TO GLORIA STEINEM.
As I'm sure plenty of you have heard, Gloria Steinem, who has openly endorsed Hillary Clinton, recently said in an interview with Bill Maher that young women are only supporting Bernie Sanders to "meet guys."
“When you’re young, you’re thinking, ‘Where are the boys? The boys are with Bernie,’ ”
This was so disappointing (and infuriating) for me to hear last night. Gloria Steinem, one of the strongest and most influential feminist icons in history, is reducing her arguments against Senator Sanders' candidacy to ones that are misogynist and, quite frankly, sexist. Assuming that women in their 20s are only supporting Bernie Sanders because they think they'll meet guys is destructive and not conducive to creating a productive dialogue about the role feminism plays in the upcoming election! Not to mention the fact that Steinem's declaration completely discounts all queer young women who are supporting Sen. Sanders, hiding behind heteronormative assumptions that are just plain wrong.
Now, I completely understand the importance of feminists like Steinem and Albright, but we need to move past this First Wave Feminist crap that is reductive in that it takes away from the strides feminism has taken since our foremothers brought our fight to the front of the line! There was a time when radical feminists believed that trans women were not "real" women, and that they were simply men trying to invade their feminine space in a different way. WE. ARE. PAST. THAT. POINT. As feminists and politically aware young men and women, we deserve to have our right to choose whomever we want to vote for in the upcoming election. It's as simple as this: You cannot claim to be a champion of women or to be a progressive feminist if you are going to shit on other women because you don't agree with them. You cannot say that women should be voting for Hillary Clinton simply because she is also a woman, because the entire point of everything we've been fighting for is the equality of the sexes, and with that equality comes the freedom for women to vote for ANYBODY THEY WANT TO, be it Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, or god damn Big Bird.
Do not bring us back another thirty years, Mss. Albright, Steinem, and Clinton. Millennial feminists, First through Third Wave feminists...we have all worked too hard for our identities to be reduced to nothing more than young women who are obsessed with finding a man, willing to throw each other under the bus in order to get our way.
And guess what? I may be #FeelingTheBern, but that does not mean that I will demonize you for supporting Hillary Clinton, or any other candidates for that matter (though it will be hard for me to look you in the eyes if you support Donald Trump or Ted Cruz...let's be real).
UPDATE: Gloria Steinem posted a clarification about her comments on Bill Maher on her Facebook page:
"In a case of talk-show Interruptus, I misspoke on the Bill Maher show recently, and apologize for what's been misinterpreted as implying young women aren't serious in their politics. What I had just said on the same show was the opposite: young women are active, mad as hell about what's happening to them, graduating in debt, but averaging a million dollars less over their lifetimes to pay it back. Whether they gravitate to Bernie or Hillary, young women are activist and feminist in greater numbers than ever before."
I'm happy to see that Ms. Steinem reacted so well to the backlash that must've taken her by storm this morning. Be that as it may, my opinions remain unchanged about what she originally said (misspoken or not) and about Madeleine Albright's comments.