Thursday, February 21, 2008

She's Too Hard! No, wait... She's Too Soft!

What's up with the contradictory opinions of Hillary Clinton. Let me illustrate:

Rush Limbaugh's recent "analysis" on why men don't like Hillary Clinton (Because, you know, Rush Limbaugh speaks for all men. Especially the super-duper manly men with really large penises):

"It's -- a lot of it's attitudinal -- she just -- she reminds men of the worst characteristics of women they've encountered over their life: totally controlling, not soft and cuddly. Not sympathetic. Not patient. Not understanding. Demanding, domineering, Nurse Ratched kind of thing. Everything you do, you have to do behind her back, that kind of -- and then, after all of that, with Mrs. Clinton with this -- the characteristics I just described -- with the flick of a light switch, all of a sudden, she's a victim of evil men and bad Republicans and she starts crying and she wants sympathy. She's a classic manipulator."


Soooo, Clinton shouldn't be President because she's cold and, let's just say what Rush means here: unfeminine.

But wait!

If a woman displays feminine traits, she is not cut out for the presidency. For, after Clinton's much-reviled "tearing up" incident, former presidential hopeful John Edwards pounced:

"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."


And there we have it folks, no matter how women in leadership roles act, they can't win: whether they're "hard" or "soft" they just aren't cut out for the presidency.


Christ. The rampant and unquestioned misogyny is almost enough to make me support Clinton just because she's a woman. (Don't worry, I didn't! Lest anyone accuse me of "gender politics" dun-dun-dun). It truly speaks to the sad state of gender affairs in our country when the very real prospect of a female president is so very threatening that it's causing a certain group of scared little boys to piss their little britches.


Feminism is, like, so irrelevant, right?

No comments: