Posted on 07/28/2017 9:49:10 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
For many female supporters of former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, it seemed like more was riding on her victory than matters of policy. Climate change, reproductive rights, health care, the Supreme Court so much was on the table, but there should be no shame in acknowledging that the symbolic value to other women, of a woman who had devoted decades to public service, whose devotion was constantly met with the backhanded sexism thats all too familiar to any woman in the workplace or in the public spotlight, becoming president.
But of course, we all know what happened next, and Clinton will be tackling the cringe-worthy horrors, the feminist triumphs, and everything in between in her new memoir What Happened, to be released this September.
Here is the books summary, which in itself hints that the book will be an unapologetic, authentic criticism of patriarchal politics. From NBC:
In the past, for reasons I try to explain, Ive often felt I had to be careful in public, like I was up on a wire without a net. Now Im letting my guard down.
The memoir is also billed as a cautionary tale, about the adversarial forces that might have had a hand in the stranger-than-fiction election.
The butt of many jokes even from liberals has always been Clintons caution, the polished, distant profile she constructed for herself that alienated many voters.
Of course, Clinton did her best to shine a light on this with a candid interview with Humans of New York from 2016, in which she offered an emotional explanation of why she constantly seems so emotionless.
The anecdote started how you might expect Clinton and her female friends were some of the only women in the room taking a law school admissions test, and in the face of hotly emotional attacks. While the proctor was absent, men yelled to Hillary, You dont need to be here, and even, If you take my spot, Ill get drafted, and Ill go to Vietnam, and Ill die.
But I couldnt respond, Clinton said. I couldnt afford to get distracted because I didnt want to mess up the test. I know that I can be perceived as aloof or cold or unemotional. But I had to learn as a young woman to control my emotions. And thats a hard path to walk. Because you need to protect yourself, you need to keep steady, but at the same time you dont want to seem walled off. And sometimes I think I come across more in the walled off arena. And if I create that perception, then I take responsibility.
Sitting in the admissions exam room, Clinton braved the sexist, emotionally charged verbal attacks an additional obstacle to taking the test that her male peers didnt have to endure with dignified silence, and this same dignified silence would go on to shape her political career for decades.
She didnt stoop to responding to grossly sexist Monica Lewinsky jokes (one that was directed by then presidential candidate Donald Trump, himself), being called a c-nt, and a thousand other words that are painful to write, let alone be the target of. Today, if our president feels even vaguely slighted, he takes to Twitter within seconds to lash out.
Her interview with HONY was brief but powerful powerful because it was so relatable. When youre a man, displays of emotion are displays of passion; when youre a woman, displays of emotion are displays of weakness. Thats true today, and I can only imagine how much that was the case when Clinton was a young woman trying to go to law school.
Clintons memoir will tackle a host of other hot topics related to the election Russia, James Comey, perhaps it will address the weaknesses of her campaign that contributed to her loss, as will. But certainly it will also talk about gender, and the unfair, contradictory demands that are made of female politicians, who must be strong, but not walled off, aloof, inauthentic, who must be qualified and astute, but not to be perceived as establishment.
I hope Clinton devotes at least a page of the memoir to a reflection on what it was like to devote decades of her life to advocating for women, children, and racial equality, only to be dismissed as fake and self-seeking because she didnt yell and swear like Bernie, or encourage her supporters to beat up protesters, like Trump.
Surely most media and pundits will focus on her memoirs discussion of Russian hacking, the emails, etc., etc. etc. But what I and likely many women who closely followed Clintons campaign and character look forward to most are her insights about what it takes to be a successful female leader in a patriarchal society, and if will even be possible to cultivate female successful female leaders in a patriarchal society.
The best part of all is that Clinton is promising to let her guard down. Shes had time to think, time to reflect, and has probably come to recognize that theres nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by telling young women across the country the unadulterated truth about patriarchal politics.
MSM has to be shitting themselves over Sept. 12 release date ... The MSM returns from Fire Island summer blackout just one week prior ... Cankles Livre de misère will blot out the Narrative rather quickly ...
"That's how winning is done! ... But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that."
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