In the British television series Doctor Who, there is a scene at the conclusion of the episode “The Christmas Invasion” when the protagonist, known only as The Doctor, promises the British Prime Minister that he will destroy her career with six little words. She scoffs at this idea, for how could a mere sentence put an end to her fruitful career as Prime Minister? He saunters over to her nearby aid and nonchalantly asks, “Don't you think she looks tired?” And just as he promised, this sentence sparks an idea that burns the people’s faith in the Prime Minister to the ground. People begin to think that perhaps this woman is not fit to run a country. They question whether the stress of the job has made her frail, or whether her health is somehow failing her, for why else would she look so tired?

Just as the Doctor whispered words of doubt to the Prime Minister’s aid, Republican nominee Donald Trump has shouted these same ideas to the media when his campaign recently disputed the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s overall health, and therefore her ability to serve as President of the United States. After the Democratic nominee took a tumble while leaving a 9/11 commemoration ceremony, these conspiracies regarding Clinton’s health were only compounded as headlines swirled with questions over whether or not someone so secretive of their own health could truly be healthy. Had the pressure of campaigning gotten to her? Had she been made fragile and weak from such prolonged stress? Even after Clinton’s doctor confirmed that the Democratic nominee was simply dealing with a bout of pneumonia as many Americans do on a daily basis, it only seemed to further the suspicions of the public and mainstream media that Clinton was unfit to serve and should be disregarded as a serious choice for President. Although past campaigns have questioned the health of candidates before Clinton, these vicious attacks strike a sexist tone with many in the American public. This would not be the first time that Clinton has dealt with sexism as a primary factor for attacks brought against her, nor would it be the first time that many would deny that this underlying sexism in the American psyche is the cause for such doubt to be cast on the candidate’s ability to lead. But is sexism truly a factor when one looks at the way the media covers the health of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump? When the media questions Clinton's mental capacities due to a prior clot in her brain and points to her being a grandmother as a factor for being "too old" to run for office, while disregarding Donald Trump's ag�e, high cholesterol and weight issues as potential health threats, the underlying issue may be that women and men are often treated differently when it comes to health issues and leadership positions. Context matters. If we ignore the context, we ignore the opportunity to start meaningful conversations that could allow us to see how patriarchal belief systems continue to affect our ways of thinking when it comes to not only how we treat our political candidates, but the health of men and women overall.

The History of Health and Sexism

Gender roles, or what is deemed acceptable behavior based on one’s perceived gender, influence everything from how we carry ourselves to what jobs we are believed to be suited for. The more one conforms to these roles, the more accepted that one will be within a patriarchal society. Masculinity is often associated with aggression, strength, logic and leadership while femininity is often associated with kindness, fragility, emotions and submission. These gender roles have played a large role in how the health of both men and women are viewed in American culture. Male ailments are most often associated with a physical injury or age while the ailments that are often associated with women are mental health issues. Historically, this has been problematic for women and has limited women’s access to health care and leadership positions. The belief that women are naturally unstable, and therefore unsuitable for leadership, can be found as far back as the 4^th century when Hippocrates wrote of what would later be known as “hysteria”, a condition believed to be caused by the wandering of a woman’s womb. This wandering was thought to cause women to become aggressive or upset which went against the woman’s natural docile tendencies, and could be cured by the womb holding a child. Even as medicine advanced in the 18^th century, the idea that mental ailments were a woman’s disease prevailed. It was thought that a woman’s natural fragility was the cause of a disturbance in her “nerves”, often thought to brought about by her mental capacity being overwhelmed from education that only men's larger mental capacity could endure. By the 19^th century, Jean-Martin Charcot believed that hysteria was truly a neurological disorder and fell to women only due to a sinful nature and physical inferiority that could only be passed to women. Until the 1980s, hysteria was believed to be a psychological problem that only women faced. Women who did not fit the gender role of docile, virginal or kind were placed in the category of “hysterical” and believed to be ill, causing the public to question the sanity of women who wished to take on aggressive leadership roles, indulge their sexual desires or who disagreed with others. This belief in the unstable woman has caused women to be misdiagnosed by doctors due to a lingering belief that women, so consumed by their emotions, may be making up their symptoms or even dramatizing them. Women are more likely to be wrongly diagnosed with depression or general anxiety disorders than treated for a physical ailment that is plaguing them due to a patriarchal culture that still exists, placing women in a naturally irrational category. When a powerful woman such as Hillary Clinton is accused of having brain damage that may compromise her judgement due to a blood clot found years before, even though there is no physical evidence that this clot caused any long term damage, this is reminiscent of how sexism has caused many to inadvertently question the sanity of women and overall fragility of a woman's body. When emotional words such as “shrill” or "punishing” are used to describe her speeches, unlike Donald Trump whose speeches are often described as “strong” and “impressive”, it is indicative of how the world has long believed that a woman stepping outside of her gender role is “hysterical”, and therefore not suited to lead. Just as the world watched the British Prime Minister in Doctor Who for signs of wear, the media watches Hillary Clinton to judge her physical appearance as healthy in a way that the world does not watch Donald Trump, even if he had potential health issues. This is because of an archaic mindset that a weak man is better suited for a job than a strong woman due to the liability of a woman's irrational mind. It creates the idea that a man’s body may break, however his mind is always logical and strong, unlike that of a woman.

Men also suffer when a patriarchal mindset dictates what constitutes health due to the gendered belief that men are naturally strong in every possible way and therefore should not seek out the help of others, including physicians. Although men are more likely to get a doctor to take them seriously when discussing physical symptoms of pain, men overall are less likely to go to a doctor to have checkups and physicals. They are also more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as drinking, smoking and impulsivity and are less likely to engage in activities that will increase their life expectancy such as having a healthy diet, exercising and regularly visiting their doctors. This lack of attention to their health has caused men to have higher death rates in many of the leading causes of death from cancer, heart disease and violent crime. This patriarchal belief that men do not require the help of others also keeps many men from healthily expressing their emotions or seeking mental health help, causing men to be much more likely to commit suicide then women. Science has shown that men are less likely to recover from damage done to their bodies due to high levels of testosterone, making their overall life-span 7 years shorter than that of women. Scientists believe that while women’s bodies heal quicker to keep their bodies healthy for any potential child to develop, men’s lack of childbearing does not require such regeneration causing the cells to break down much faster in all male species. So while science shows that women are in fact healthier overall, this belief system that perpetuates the myth that men are healthier both mentally and physically can cause men to not seek out medical care as often and endangers their lives. When the media simply brushes over the health issues that Donald Trump could likely face due to his lack of exercise, high cholesterol and age, they are reinforcing the idea that no physical ailment is guaranteed, and even if faced with one a man's natural strength can overcome it. Although men are more likely to be taller and tend to have more muscle mass, they are not infallible and this flawed patriarchal belief system may very well have disregarded important health issues that could potentially affect Donald Trump while demonizing Hillary Clinton for being affected by everyday health problems of no relevance.

"Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good."-Charlotte Whitton

Although it is important for a presidential candidate to be as healthy as possible to endure the stress of the position, the scrutiny of late has not quite matched the inspections of past presidents and presidential candidates. Woodrow Wilson suffered strokes before and during his time as President, Franklin D, Roosevelt suffered from polio and a plethora of ailments, John F. Kennedy suffered from Addison's disease, Ronald Reagan was the oldest man elected to office at 69 years old and George H.W. Bush infamously vomited into the lap of the Japanese Prime Minister due to the flu. Due to these men being given the privilege of being seen as physically and mentally stronger than women, and being given the status of fully human, these ailments were often overlooked unlike the slight sickness that found of Ms. Clinton. Though some argue that it is not the ailment that concerns them about Hillary Clinton but her lack of transparency about it, this idea still does not hold to the standards of how past candidates and presidents have been judged. Woodrow Wilson denied his strokes in office and told the public he was simply suffering from an illness, Roosevelt's doctor spoke of him being in good health while he was suffering from heart failure, bronchitis and other debilitating diseases in his final days, and JFK hid his Addison's disease from the public. Just as these leaders once hid their vulnerabilities from the public, why is Hillary Clinton being crucified for the same action? Due to the history of women being judged much more harshly on physical ailments than their male counterparts, would it not be more logical for Ms. Clinton to work through it and not speak of her ailments to the public just as her predecessors once did?

This harsh judgement that is often reserved for women in the public light must be reexamined. A candidate should not be derailed due to the thought of them looking tired or perhaps having a sick day. The media should focus on the effort and stamina that a candidate puts forth as an indicator of their ability to handle the job. We must evaluate why the media holds women to a different standard than they hold men to when both run for political office. We must stop denying that centuries of sexism do not have the ability to influence our cultural understanding and thought processes. Context matters and acknowledging this will allow the American people to critically think and reevaluate our actions. Here's to a speedy recovery Ms. Clinton! Get well soon.