General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTo find Hillary Clinton likable, we must learn to view women as complex beings
http://boingboing.net/2016/09/15/to-find-hillary-clinton-likabl.htmlWhether you realize it or not, youve spent your entire life being trained to empathize with white men. From Odysseus to Walter White, Hamlet to Bruce Wayne, James Bond to the vast majority of biopic protagonists, our art consistently makes the argument that imperfect, even outright villainous, men have an innate core of humanity. And theres nothing wrong with that. Good art should teach us to empathize with complex people. The problem comes not from the existence of these stories about white men, but from the lack of stories about everyone else.
Thats something Ive been thinking about a lot during this increasingly insane presidential election season. Particularly as I try to wrap my head around the fact that Hillary Clinton is on one hand the most qualified human being to ever run for president of the United States, and, on the other, one of the most disliked presidential candidates of all time. In fact, Donald Trump is the only candidate who is more disliked than Clinton. And hes not only overtly racist, sexist, and Islamophobic, but also unfit and unprepared for office. How can these two fundamentally dissimilar politicians possibly be considered bedfellows when it comes to popular opinion?
(Snlip)
But Clinton is different. Even many of those who plan to vote for her admit they dont find her particularly likable. According to The Washington Post, just 33 percent of Clinton supporters are very enthusiastic about supporting her while 46 percent of Trump supporters say the same about their candidate. (For the record, Clintonlike most womentends to be far more popular when shes in office than when shes running for one.) Pundits usually blame Clintons favorability issues on her perceived caginess, her tone, and her general awkwardness when it comes to public speaking. Essentially: Clintons flaws make her unlikable.
But thats not the case for male politicians. In fact, its often their flaws that make them likable. After all, on paper the idea of an old disheveled man yelling sounds downright unpleasant. But in practice Bernie Sanders is an utterly charming and refreshing political figure. And while one might assume Joe Bidens frequent gaffes and penchant for using words like malarkey would make him seem hopelessly old-fashioned, those are precisely the qualities that have transformed him into a beloved darling of the social media age. And Clintons own running mate, Tim Kaine, provides a particularly interesting contrast because he shares so much of her awkwardness. Yet far from being condemned for it, he was lovingly hailed as Americas nerdy stepdad after his speech at this years Democratic National Convention.
upaloopa
(11,417 posts)people for what they are not what we want them to be.
HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)We are not carbon copies of each other whether we are male, or female. Geesch. If you are male, are you just like Donald Trump?
gollygee
(22,336 posts)It gives examples of likeable men who are not like Donald Trump.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)This year is different as both are considered unlikable by the public. So why not chose most experienced? That makes sense to me. I wish there were 75 million of me who takes experience over likability.
Egnever
(21,506 posts)Not the most hip of women. Yet she is beloved by many.
Just saying, I ain't buying what this article is selling.
betsuni
(25,537 posts)gollygee
(22,336 posts)Cairycat
(1,706 posts)However I can point to a moment where Hillary became much more human and likeable to me, a Bernie supporter:
it was behind the scenes video of the convention. There's a shot where Hillary is watching Chelsea speaking to the convention, on a monitor backstage. Hillary exclaims, "She's so pretty!". And it just struck me then, that is exactly what I would say, seeing my daughter like that. And it just made me more able to relate to her.
bhikkhu
(10,718 posts)Growing up, she left for work before I got up for school and came home late, tired. We watched the news together having dinner, she knitted and sometimes read to us before bed. My grandma was more the daily presence who helped raise us and gave us a hard time if we needed it. I remember one day I went to work with my mom on a "bring your kids" day of some sort - she was sharp and competent, and lots of people answered to her and came to her for help, definitely an eye-opener.
People have many sides, all of us, and they don't all have to rhyme or make up some narrative-fitting whole as we might imagine it; there is real beauty and real humanity in unexpected difference. I have no doubt in Hillary's competence for the job, which is the primary thing we should demand in a candidate - much more important than likability.
Con-men and politicians build careers on likabilty; those without it just have to work hard and do their jobs well.
lindysalsagal
(20,692 posts)1. Mommy
2. Sexual Object
3. Victim.
But they resent it when real women turn out to be other than the extremes: Madonna/whore.