Misogyny Watch
Kerry Howley:
Kerry Howley » Blog Archive » Cry Like a Man, Hillary!: Hillary Clinton bursts into tears, stunned at her own Herculean ability to keep campaigning. Edwards comes out cockswinging:
I think what we need in a commander-in-chief is strength and resolve, and presidential campaigns are tough business, but being president of the United States is also tough business.
Successful male politicians, of course, never cry. Here’s George W displaying a stunning lack of resolve. Here’s his dad falling apart over Jeb. Here’s the other Clinton conveniently welling up as he spots a camera. Romney cries; brags about crying here.
A Hit & Run commenter, faced with the above examples, concludes: “if any male candidate got all weepy he’d be dropped from consideration out of sheer self-respectability. Hilary can get away with it because ‘well, its not the same’. ”
Nope, not the same! Add to this useful list of the worst jobs in the world: consultant to any candidate with breasts. Show emotion and you’re weak; show strength and you’re a collection of servos. Respond to attacks with emotion and you’re “angry.” Respond with equanimity and you’re cold and distant. Shy from war and you’re too feminine to lead; embrace it and you’re the establishment’s whore. And the worst thing you can do? Acknowledge, in any way, shape, or form, the existence of sexism in these United States.
