Hillary Clinton does not deserve your vote or your money. Not for being a woman, anyway. Her qualifications as a politician are yours to decide on individually. Her gender, however, should not be a factor.
“Not to be sexist but, I can’t vote for the leader of the free world to be a woman,” the rapper T.I. said. “….It’s kinda like, I just know that women make rash decisions emotionally.”
Even if you don’t think of T.I. as the voice of the nation (and few do), he does represent a popular opinion. Women can’t be president. They’ll menstruate and cry all over the position. The next nuclear bomb will be dropped directly on the home of that random bar guy that didn’t call Madam President back.
Sadly, women, not just male rappers, have doubts about a woman’s ability to do the job as well. A woman from a Trump rally–probably unintentionally–echoed T.I.’s sexist words.
There’s a lot of little girls out there, hearing those words spewed on national television. After that, how many of them are going to say, “I want to be president when I grow up”, when their teachers ask?
Besides the matter of the presidency, everyday women face discrimination all over America. It’s almost 2017, and there’s still a wage gap. Though women make up more than half of the population, the Center for American Women and Politics reports that only 20% of the seats in congress and the senate are held by women. Construction workers still yell, “hey, baby,” and whistle at women as they head to work.
Hillary Clinton, love her or hate her, faces the same sexist perceptions and road blocks on a national scale. Despite the difficulties, she’s out there as a woman running for president. Republican or Democrat, that bravery deserves support. Not in the form of a vote or a generous campaign donation, but with a little female solidarity. Despise her for her policies, if you must, but respect what she’s doing for the next generation.