They think that is ALL that sexism is: a conscious decision to not support someone because she's a woman. And then when you call them sexist, they get so defensive and angry, because they don't think of themselves as sexist.

But, many of them are. Sexism is more than that express, overt rejection of female leadership. A lot of it is subconscious and intangible, a lot of it is clashing archetypes in people's minds, as I described before.

But if you dare bring it up, you're "whining." Only women who talk about sexism get accused of whining. No one accused Bob Herbert of whining. But when a woman brings it up, it's one step away from a little girl on the playground running to teacher after a boy pulled her hair -- and boys don't like getting in trouble for that, so they accuse women who complain of sexism at the hands of men (and some women) of "whining."

I mean, i can identify -- no one wants to get accused of being a crypto-racist or crypto-sexist, racist/sexist in such a way that they are not even aware or in control of it. But just because it's unpleasant to explore doesn't mean we should just never talk about it. White people have generally accepted that racism needs to be discussed, explored, at the forefront of the public consciousness. But sexism is different -- many men and some women don't actually think that they are perpetrators of sexism in the same way that white people have been perpetrators of racism (yes, there is other racism, but that's a different topic).

Sexists don't feel at fault enough to accept their role in the perpetuation of sexism, and why? Because there is still a lingering thought among many, a dirty little secret: that women have not been elected president (for example) not because of sexism, but because women are just "naturally" less driven to seek that kind of power. Thus, it's not men's/society's fault, it's evolution's fault, and that's nothing that men/society should feel bad about.

Or just because you dislike Hillary, you hate women.

NO ONE is saying that, and everyone arguing against that strawman just proves the article's point.

And another corollary point: complaining about racism is ok, complaining about sexism? It's "whining," always. "Whining," when used to describes talking about sexism, is a way to dismiss women's complaints. It's patronizing, it's belittling, it's almost sexist in itself, as women are usually the most accused of whining (in contexts beyond sexism).

Why can't we talk about sexism, y'all? Why can't we talk about 10 times, 20 times? What's so wrong with that?

Everyone now is saying "it's not that she's a woman, it's that she's Hillary." Well! This thesis will be tested the next time a woman runs for president and actually does well enough to possibly win. I can almost guarantee it that people will be saying, "it's not that she's a woman, it's that she's Kathleen Sebelius" or whatever, and everyone who was around now will remember that and see that it was all BS back in 2008, that it really was just underlying sexism. For an example of this, look up Attila the Hen (Thatcher's nickname before 'Iron Lady'), or more recently, what Nancy Pelosi faced when she was becoming Speaker of the House.

The sexims against Hillary isn't overt, it doesn't go "i hate women, i hate hillary." It's much more complicated -- people are looking at her with their ideals of what a WOMAN leader should be like, they find her attractive because she exhibits qualities that people find unattractive in women, such as ruthlessness, cynicism, scheming, Bismarkian moves. But it's not just that these qualities are fatal to a woman's image for these people (where in men they are tolerable, if not loved). It's that they're scary too -- that the woman has all this power and influence. It doesn't gel with their images of women, and they can feel this incongruence, and it makes them uncomfortable, and that's the core of the "dislike" against Hillary.

These same people, when they say, "it's that she's a woman, it's that she's hillary" are implying that they would have no problem voting for a woman for president if it were a different woman who they thought would be a good president. But this perfect female candidate is a unicorn. It's unlikely that these people will ever feel comfortable with a candidate who is both ambitious and smart enough to run for president and is a woman. Usually, those ambitious and smart people aren't very cuddly and feminine.

So, the next time you hear "I just don't like Pelosi" or Condi or Diane Feinstein, I think it's safe to say it has everything to do with the above.

LeCastor, how come you have time to post?

did you lose your two hundred thousand entry level job to a less-qualified male?

Nope, still there. I'll be starting it later this year after I take the bar exam. Cuz, you know, you need to do that for this entry-level job.

Thanks for asking, though, dickhead.

@ AncientAssyrian

I have no idea why it's so hard for you Obama supporters to get it: he's a politician. You don't get to be a US Senator by being a nice, honest guy. Sorry, it just doesn't happen. You have to run campaigns, which are by their very nature dirty, cynical, craven.

To put yourself through a political campaign for the US Senate, and much worse, for President, you've got to want that power REAL BAD. You've got to be a megalomaniac. THEY ALL ARE, Hillary and McCain too. Come on, you're an adult, you've been around the block a few times, how can you buy Obama's saintly shtick?!

I care that she's a craven, cynical, and megalomaniacal politician... who lies to the public and to the media, and who has profited massively from being a politician.

And Obama isn't?

Haha you're so sweet.