When I first came across former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gilliard’s misogyny speech for the first time, I was mesmerized. In it, she outlines the misogynistic words and actions of Opposition leader Tony Abbott after he unfairly called her a sexist.
What I found most admirable about Gilliard’s speech was that she showed true emotion in her delivery. At first, Abbott sneered at her while others in the audience laughed. Despite this, PM Gilliard powered through her arguments.
I could hear the hurt and anger in her voice in lines such as “I was offended when the Leader of the Opposition stood next to a sign that described me as a man’s bitch” and “I was offended too by the sexism, by the misogyny of the Leader of the Opposition catcalling across this table at me as I sit here as Prime Minister,” as she outlined Abbott’s hypocrisy. By the end, no one in the audience, let alone Abbott, dared to laugh and most people’s faces showed the gravity of her words.
Gilliard showed me that there are moments in politics where anger and pain should be on full display. So often, women in leadership positions are told that to be respected and powerful, they need to “control their emotions.” Emotions aren’t some demeaning phenomena that humans need to suppress.
More often than not, the “over-emotional woman” is just the progression of a harmful stereotype. This stereotype is also a blatant double standard. For example, male politicians incessantly yell and interrupt each other during debates. This was seen particularly clearly in the 2020 presidential debates, which made the candidates look extremely immature. However, when Kamala Harris respectfully called out Mike Pence on his interruptions during the Vice Presidential debates, she was labeled as arrogant and rude.
Donald Trump’s stormy outbursts on Twitter are another example (albeit an extreme one) of the over-emotional behavior that goes under the radar for men but is scrutinized for women. His tweets screaming at foreign leaders in all-caps were unprofessional and oftentimes childish. Meanwhile, women such as Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez are shamed in the media for shedding a few tears in public because some believe it is a sign of weak leadership.
When it comes to running for office, women face a paradox. They are told that they won’t be voted because they are perceived as being too emotional. Even those who believe women are capable of holding office hesitate in voting for them in primary elections because they believe others will not support them come time for the general election.
Because of this, women have to put up a stoic front in order to get elected. They must then maintain that facade to keep up their “likability” (another concept that is largely made up and sexist), as showing emotion once in office can lead to decreased ratings.
Women should be allowed to show their emotions in politics without backlash because it brings humanity to politics. We need more compassion and empathy towards the sensitive crises that politicians are tasked with handling. Showing appropriate emotion is a sign of emotional intelligence and strong leadership, and women should be respected for these traits that they bring to the political landscape.