I have a lot of trouble taking you seriously. And no, it’s not because I’m sexist — I have my internalized hang-ups that come out, but this isn’t one of those. I mean, I used to support you. You supported the ERA! You wanted legislation to protect women’s rights! (What happened to that?)
But when you started talking about how unfair the media is to Sen. Clinton, I did a bit of a double-take. Not because I don’t think it’s true — the media has been very sexist in this election cycle, no lie — but because you started claiming that the racism wasn’t there.
Never mind that the focus of the media for months has been on how black women vote. Never mind that any time a black woman supports Obama in a news story, it is implied that she did so on skin color, and every time a black woman supports Clinton, it is implied that she’s bravely going against her race to vote on gender. Apparently, according to news media, black women can’t vote on the issues. That’s sexism AND racism.
Or how about Bill O’Reilly’s comments about Michelle Obama and “lynch parties”? That’s straight up racism right there, the “how dare she” make a comment about this country, doesn’t she “know her place” mentality shining right through.
And were you just not paying attention just last year, when there were near-daily stories about whether Obama is black enough or white enough or mixed race enough to lead the United States? Whether white people would vote for a black man, or African Americans would vote for someone with a white mother? Or a few days ago, when yet another news analysis about black voters hit the wire, as if black voters and black voters alone have carried Sen. Obama to this point? That obsession with Obama’s black identity and “cred”? That’s racism.
But that’s not the only reason I’m no longer taking you seriously. Because you are forgetting one woman who is, at this point in time, one of the two most politically powerful women in the United States, with Nancy Pelosi, who was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. Dr. Condoleezza Rice (and how often her degree is forgotten) is the second woman and the second black person to ever serve as Secretary of State, the highest-ranked position in the cabinet and fifth in the line of succession for the presidency.
So the real reason I did a double take when you started complaining about Sen. Clinton’s treatment by the media, NOW, is because of Dr. Rice. Feminists complain when Sen. Clinton is called Hillary by the media. Where have you been when Dr. Rice is patronizingly called “Condie” by reporters and news anchors?
You’ve complained that the media is unfair to Sen. Clinton, but where were you when “rumors” were implying that Dr. Rice and President Bush had more than a professional relationship, and that this was what got her the job as Secretary of State? Where are you when news pieces cast Dr. Rice as the Bush administration’s “Mammy” figure?
You all complained that Sen. Ted Kennedy “betrayed women” when he endorsed Sen. Obama rather than Sen. Clinton. Where was NOW when Sen. Kennedy led the attacks on Dr. Rice during her nomination to the position? Where were you, saying that she should not be scrutinized because it was time for the first black women Secretary of State?
This isn’t the first time you’ve left a woman of color hanging, either. When Don Imus called the Rutger’s women “nappy-headed hos,” it was only after days of angry letters that you finally deigned to say something. I see nothing on your website supporting Dr. Andrea Smith, who has written quite a bit on women’s rights and sexual violence and who was recently denied tenure by the University of Michigan. Why do you never speak up against American corporations that test birth control and HPV vaccines on women in Asia, Africa, and Latin America? You’re in favor of those options, but you ignore the fact that women around the world suffer to find the right mixture for you to have guilt-free sex and protected cervixes.
I’ve seen you jump bad when Rep. Pelosi is insulted by the media, NOW. I’ve seen you defend other (white) female politicians. And I don’t think it’s wrong for you to defend Sen. Clinton. But when you only pay attention to the rights of women who look like you and ignore blatant sexism toward women of color and exploitation of women around the world by U.S. companies, well … I think you get the picture.
- Vox
