I can’t not talk about this anymore. I bit my tongue when Hillary was running for president because I didn’t want to piss off my friends, even though I watched kids my age hate on Hillary openly because she was “a bitch.” Or ugly, or a lesbian, or generally unpleasant, blah blah blah. Except to my family, who humored me and patted my head, I didn’t sputter about the RESOUNDING SILENCE ABOUT SEXISM IN THE ELECTIONS.
Maybe it was the Eclectic flyers posted around campus with the title “Vice President I’d Like to Fuck.” Or maybe it was watching the one of many, many spoofs of Sarah Palin online that make fun of her maternal status or sex appeal. In any event, it’s become clear to me that this country loves to hate women for being women. Of course, the issue is complicated because Palin makes herself so easy for liberals to hate. Five minutes into her August 29th address with Senator McCain, the first time she spoke publicly after being nominated for vice president, Palin spoke about her family. She mentioned her husband, Todd, saying how “he’s still the man [she] admire[s] most in this world,” and proceeded to describe her children, one of whom we all know is in the military. Eventually she moved on to other things, but the message was clear: straight soccer mom, with an emphasis on “mom” and “straight.” Is Sarah Palin oblivious to this? Hell no. She obviously knows she is a woman and has no problem hamming up her desirable female qualities.
This move on Palin’s part is called “internalized sexism,” a description of when women believe sexist values. One might argue that Palin is anti-abortion because of internalized sexism. Internalized sexism also leads to girls wearing lingerie and getting down with strangers at, oh say, a college sex party. You may have seen me two weekends ago at Eclectic in a red dress and high heels making out with anyone with a tongue. Why? Because I was drunk and I have internalized sexism. Sometimes I believe that I am most valuable as a sex object, and sometimes I want sex. These two things don’t contradict each other. There are many kinds of “internalized oppression,” like internalized racism, homophobia, etc.
When November 4th rolls around, I will be voting for Obama, because I’m a Democrat, and I like when the government gives money to things like public schools, art, and welfare. I also like what Obama says about the importance of service. Or maybe I won’t be voting at all because the two-party system directly contradicts my values. Either way, I will be working on not hating the people behind the politics. I will be trying to have compassion for Sarah Palin, a woman raised in a sexist culture who completely buys it, and I will be trying to have compassion for Hillary, because, well, she’s Hillary. Many of us who were close to Dave Harris were shocked to disbelief when he died. His death seemed so random that many of us could not believe what had happened. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by how unfair life seems, and then I remember to have compassion for myself, because I live in a world of rising sea levels, sexism, and capitalism, and where tree branches randomly drop from the sky and kill people I love. Having compassion for myself has been really useful. It’s something I continue to work on, and strongly recommend.
What’s my point? Stop hating Hillary Clinton. Stop hating Sarah Palin. Make love, not war. Vote Compassion/Wisdom in 2008.
Leave a Reply