Nobody Cares About Women Politicians…Until They Do
Before the Democratic primary field narrowed to former vice president Joe Biden—now the presumptive nominee—the two progressives of the field, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, broke their pact of nonaggression. Debates about policies became overshadowed by the conflict that emerged between the two leaked in the press. Anonymous staffers reported that Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in a 2018 closed-door meeting that he didn’t think a woman could be president resurfaced. When asked, Sen. Warren confirmed these comments, while Bernie Sanders has denied them, citing his long record of advocating for women to become involved in politics. Tensions between the two colleagues and friends also arose when senior Sanders’ staffers advised their organizers to attack Warren in their speech.
Bernie Sanders is currently polling as the most popular candidate among the youth (Jones). He has a unique stronghold over the Twitter realm, which was especially reflected during the recent debates. When Sanders was questioned on whether he would confirm Warren’s claim, a vast majority of active Tweeters defended Sanders. Twitter dumped on Warren with multiple threads that included snake emojis, a symbol which is often attributed to the “cancel culture” rhetoric on social media.
Even on YouTube videos from CNN, which has a primarily Democratic centrist audience, the comment section was flooded with support for Sanders. Many did not believe that he would discourage a woman from running for president given the remarks’ stark contradiction with his record.
Whether Warren or Sanders is correct, or if the truth lies somewhere in between their statements, is irrelevant to a larger conversation at hand.
The fact is that many who defended Sanders are likely still complacent in perpetuating sexism against women politicians. That isn’t because sexism is unique or common among Bernie Sanders supporters or those who defended him, but because our political climate is still inherently hostile toward women.
Various reports show that compared to their male counterparts, women politicians are scrutinized more in the media. They are far more likely to receive criticism for their appearance and private life such as family or sexual history. And compared to women, male politicians are far less likely to be called out for corruption or holding unpopular positions.
Take Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Yes, Hillary Clinton lost because she didn’t run the most effective campaign. Yes, Clinton lost because she wasn’t charismatic or the cleanest candidate. And Clinton did not lose because she was a woman.
But the double standards throughout the general election reflected a very troubling reality about how the media targets female politicians. Many of the accusations of corruption floating around Clinton were baseless or buried in unfounded conspiracy theories. Her email scandal was thoroughly investigated and exhausted to the extreme, and yet many continuously brought them up. Meanwhile, few were as vocal about Trump’s corruption— littered with a history of financial fraud and racially discriminatory business practices. It received relatively far less attention from the mainstream media or its viewers.
While the 2016 election circus is not a place many of us enjoy revisiting, it is one of the most relevant examples of persisting sexism against women in politics.
Elizabeth Warren has faced similar outlandish scrutiny, mainly in being compared to Hillary Clinton from far left Democrats. Although both served as lawyers and senators, Elizabeth Warren has consistently out-lefted Clinton in her politics. While Clinton is associated with corporatism and Wall Street, Warren has fought for breaking up monopolies, indicting Wall Street, and strengthening regulation. Warren has backtracked on some progressive policies over the course of her campaign, but her being conflated to a centrist politician is a smear given her long record of advocating for progressive politics. And Klobuchar, the only other woman currently still in the race, does little to induce a counter narrative as someone who aligns with centrist politics.
Beyond the campaign trail however, is the pervasive sexism that continues to undermine the work of congressional members. Alexandria Ocastio Cortez is a victim to the scrutiny from the media, as well as sexist stereotypes wielded against her from conservative think tanks and internet trolls. Back in 2018, some media outlets reported on Cortez’s jacket as “proof” that she hadn’t struggled financially (Jones). When Alexandria Ocastio Cortez made several news appearances after winning her district in a landslide 72% vote, internet trolls spewed the “c word ” often a label weaponized against outspoken women. Among the many ‘crazies,’ she was called “crazy eyes,” “crazy socialist,” “crazy Democrat”—you get the gist.
Bernie Sanders may not be sexist, but the political climate certainly is despite the growing representation of women in Congress. People need to rally behind what’s right and not the cult of personality that surrounds their candidate. This means we should be mindful of the language we use when we criticize politicians and evaluate our own biases to keep ourselves in check.
by ANDREA REIER