1992. Bill Clinton was running against incumbent George H. W. Bush for president, and Hillary Clinton, Bill’s wife, had a vision of her own. Unlike many First Ladies and wives of politicians, Hillary Clinton entered her husband’s presidential race with her own formidable resume and successful career. As the First Lady of Arkansas, Hillary refused to cast aside her career as a lawyer and advocate for the rights of children, but the United States, a patriarchal democracy, had something else in mind for her. Many Americans expected her to return to the kitchen and conform to the gender norms surrounding politicians’ wives.
Yet, Hillary refused to concede. Exasperated by reporters and their constant questions about how her professional life would conflict with her “wifely duties,” she snapped and responded, “I supposed I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession which I entered before my husband was in public life.”
And, guess what? Republicans dragged her. Traditionalists not only rebuked her for diverging from gender norms, but also accused her for shaming those who conformed to them. In reality, she wasn’t attacking those who made the choice to become homemakers; she was attacking those who thought that was her only choice. Nevertheless, the media chose to misunderstand her. She voiced her opinion. She chose to become her own person. And, because many men in the GOP felt threatened by her, she now had to repent for her “mistake.”
Family Circle magazine decided to run a contest pitting Hillary Clinton’s cookie recipe against Barbara Bush’s, determined to put Hillary back in her “place.” Barbara, the First Lady at the time of the election, was a graceful, pearl-donning housewife who had married her high school sweetheart. And, then, there was Hillary Clinton: an ambitious lawyer, a working mother, and a political advocate for children’s rights. Their recipes couldn’t have been any more different, either. Unlike Barbara, who turned in a recipe similar to those on the back of a Betty Crocker cookie mix pack, Hillary turned in a more creative recipe, revamping the classic chocolate chip cookie recipe with oatmeal. To the surprise of many Americans (and the chagrin of those who wanted to humiliate her), Hillary won.
Here we had an accomplished, Yale-educated lawyer who is insanely talented in her own right, and we ridicule her for her verbal slip by forcing her to bake a batch of cookies. All this woman asked for was respect. She has advocated for the rights of children, women, and the disabled since her law school days. She has broken the constricting mold that we expect a politician’s wife to fill. And, what do we do? We make her put on an apron and force her to return to the kitchen.
24 years later, many things have changed. Hillary served 8 years as FLOTUS, 8 in the Senate, and 4 as Secretary of State. A few months ago, she made “herstory” as the first female presidential nominee for a major political party. She has dodged and endured thousands of sexist slurs from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and company.
And, yet, some things haven't. The day she spoke at the DNC, the most-searched on Google was “What will Hillary wear?” And, the second after she finished her speech, pundits wondered aloud about whether she came off as “warm” enough to voters -- because in the presence of Donald Trump’s lack of political experience and human decency, Hillary’s warmth is the most important issue to discuss.
Oh, and as of this election, Family Circle still holds the cookie bake-off. So much for 21st century progress, am I right?
