I'll be the first to say it: There's something instinctually unlikeable about Hillary Clinton. Most people can't quite put their finger on it, and for a while I couldn't either. I mean, I support her stances on most major issues, and with her unrivaled background in public service and her extensive grasp of foreign policy, why would I be so against voting for the woman? And then one day it dawned on me: Hillary just seems like a bitch, am I right?
Normally I'd tell you to vote with your gut—but not in this election. And that's because your gut has been trained to react negatively to a woman seeking power. Studies have shown that while we see power-seeking male politicians as more competent and more assertive, we see power-seeking female politicians as unsupportive and uncaring. In other words, when Hillary decides to try to make the country a better place by running for public office, she all of a sudden becomes a heartless bitch, while her male opponents are seen in a more positive light.
Some of you probably stopped reading right there because I "played the gender card" and all. But there's a reason why Hillary's approval ratings are always so high during her time in office, yet so much lower whenever she campaigns for a new position. We perceive Hillary differently than we perceive male politicians, and it's clear in our language. Because where we call her pushy, we call him persistent. Where we call her robotic, we call him well-rehearsed. Where we call her smug, we call him confident. Where we call her Hillary, we call him by his last name. And where we call her a bitch, we call him a strong-willed politician. So many of Hillary's supposedly negative qualities would be renamed and repackaged as something positive if only she had a Y chromosome. I'm voting for Hillary because the qualities that make her an unlikeable "bitch" are the same qualities that have made our previous male presidents effective leaders of the free world.
I want to remind you that you are not marrying the woman. You are not electing Hillary Clinton as your BFF or your babysitter or even your First Lady. You are electing her as the President of the United States, a role for which "bitch" is practically a required qualification. Yes, she's assertive; and yes, she's pushy; and yes, we see those as unattractive traits for a woman to have. But you have to be pushy to push through glass ceilings, and do we really want a submissive non-bitch dealing with a bickering Senate? Imagine a president who says, "No, Vladimir, you first." Imagine a president, a female president, diffident enough to avoid the label of bitch. Could you take her seriously? I couldn't. So no, Hillary will not be a demure doll of a public figure. She will not over-apologize for every action she makes, and she sure as hell won't be America's sweetheart. But the country will be a better place because of it. Hillary is the woman for the job because like any badass bitch, HRC is a fighter. She's tough and courageous and assertive and strong. If Hillary Clinton is a bitch, then I want to be one too.
