Letters to the Editor
-
@AncientAssyria
How did an article about supporters of Obama in any way bash him? I'm at a loss here to even begin to grasp your point, except perhaps as a vindication of R. Traister's point about the roots of unexamined irrationality -- because, frankly, your response is wholly irrational.
-
Next article will be about that, right? Right? Hello....?
Next article: How many young men, and old men, and middle aged men, are becoming increasingly fed up with online Hillary supporting sites like Salon telling them that anything they dislike about Hillary Clinton must be because they hate women.
Good grief.
I love strong women. I celebrate and support all the wonderful strong women in my life, and that includes quite a roster. No one would ever accuse me of being sexist in any way shape or form.
I also find Hillary Clinton's campaign disgusting, pandering, and bordering on pathologically dishonest. I blame a lot of that on a man, by the way, at least until recently, and she just fired him so she probably agrees at least in part, now.
Clinton's jumping on this recent non-issue and suddenly becoming a gun-totin' fishin' hard-drinkin' salt of the earth (because most of them have $110 million tucked in with the fishing tackle) was just the latest reason to be utterly, completely, turned off by this woman. You don't have to be anti-woman to be anti-Hillary.
Don't believe me? Well, you're about to see a lot of letters from women saying roughly the same thing I'm saying. Try telling them they're sexist because they dislike opportunistic phonies.
-
Holy Moly
Yes, of course this has been there all along. And it's not just the white males. I had a student in my undergraduate class who, in response to a photo of Hillary Clinton, shouted out, "I am NOT voting for her! She is NOT a pretty woman!" This was a female student, to whom I said, "And what could that possibly matter? And if it does, you'd better think long and hard about that."
I believe young women have simply bought the media line that sexism is over as an issue. They're not out there professionally yet (being advised to wear a bun and glasses with clear lenses even if they don't need them so they can "look smart," learning how to laugh off remarks from male colleagues who demean them or--still!--pressure them for a date, and on and on). I have a group of friends who student evaluations of professors on Rate My Professor and found very clear gender bias. The female professors were rated on how "nice" they were; the males, on how competent, brilliant, informed, and intelligent they were.
OF COURSE sexism isn't over. Young women are too busy trying to be nice to see it. Yet.
Perhaps this is why the Hillary Clinton: Mad as H*@l you tube video is going viral.
Thanks for your thoughts.
-
@Edson C. Hendricks
So having an irrational desire to punch a woman in the face or refusing to vote for her because she's a "bitch" is not bashing? Makes me wonder what you think "bashing" is?
-
We missed a chance to elect a true and shameless liberal
I'm a member of the demographic of males discussed in the article, but I've shared the opinion of a lot of the women interviewed for quite some time. From where I sit, most of the letters posted so far are basically by the people being talked about in the article, and they're not even self-aware, which blows my mind. And I'd like to expand it to this: can someone, for the love of God, explain to me why my uber-progressive, socialist-leaning, culturally hipster/hippie friends are head-over-heels in love with the politically moderate politician they've chosen to be elected in a year when they could have picked absolutely anyone they wanted and still won?
-
nigga, please
So it hasn't occurred to any of her apologists that HRC is simply perceived as a bad candidate? That we think that she, like George W. Bush and John McCain, is a shallow, opportunistic, lying sack of shit who's owned lock, stock and both smoking barrels by corporate interests?
Why do choices always have to come down to 'isms' anyway? Maybe it doesn't actually have a goddam thing to do with feminism. Maybe we just don't fucking like her - can't just you leave it at that? If you don't happen to support Obama should we accuse you of racism?
-
Says it all
"I spoke to a guy friend who said, 'You're being ridiculous. I'm not not voting for her because she's a woman; I'm not voting for her because she's a bitch!' He could not see the connection between the two things at all." Valenti said he explained away his comment by declaring, "I mean 'a bitch' in the sense that she's not good on this or that issue."
Be honest: has anyone in the US at this point not had this exact same conversation? I, too, find myself constantly defending Clinton against an unending stream of mindlessly and appallingly sexist attacks. And I'm also an Obama supporter (not to mention a 50-something male -- not exactly a "young woman"...)
I'm still hoping that this country will pull together and support the Democratic nominee, whoever she-or-he is. There is a lot to support in either candidate. I wish someone would get the message to Obama supporters (not to mention to Hillary "Obama's an Elitist" Clinton....)
-
Next thing she'll jump on the couch
I pinpoint sexism for a living.
"You don't know the history of sexism! I DO!!"
Guess the expert has spoken. Any feminists who disagree can just STFU.
-
Maybe I should just stop reading this ...
I keep saying I'm not reading any more articles on the primary in Salon until its over. This broken record of "everyone against Hillary is a sexist" along with the implication that being Black is actually an advantage is getting very tiring. I just don't see electing a woman to the office her husband previously held is any great statement of sexual equality. Hillary is running on Bill's record, and many of us don't want more triangulation and pandering to large corporations, not to mention blind ambition.
-
" . . .run for president and not even have your OWN long record of political experience???"
@ AncientAssyrian
You know, if a "long record of political experience" is the criteria, then you should vote for John McCain.