Hillary struggled with several aspects of her political image in the election and prior to, due to gender. She was the first “wife of a president to seek and win elective Office,” therefore, one of the first women to break the barrier of leadership roles in America (Anderson, 109). That created a challenge in itself for her to reach the top. Before Hillary ran for president, there seemed to be a glass ceiling for women. There are no laws saying that women cannot run for president or be president but breaking through that barrier to be considered a legit candidate, tested her femininity against all men. One of her critiques was displayed in this clip when Hillary, dressed as Queen Elizabeth, is shown hitting on sexy nurse Michelle Obama saying, “How about you be my Vice President? Two women, ruling the world together - we could buy a Subaru! Maybe play some softball on weekends, get a Labrador retriever… (Touching Michelle’s shoulder) Wow, you smell great!” The comedic representation strips her of all femininity, referring to her as a lesbian. It also draws upon stereotypes of lesbians in order for the audience to know what the reference is claiming. This not only shows Hillary being stripped of all natural femininity but the clip signifies that if you cannot be a woman if you like sports, certain cars, and if you plan to govern our country. The stereotypes seemed relevant to me because not only are they claiming Hillary is homosexual, they were stereotypes that highly frame the sense of discrimination in our society today. A woman in power cannot be feminine because she challenges the typical “inferior to men” image.
Bill Clinton is shown next in the clip saying, “Oh, hey to my wife. She is boring!” with Hillary staring at him like he is a little child that just got caught stealing a cookie before dinner, “oh man!” He responded. This is a great example of Jamieson’s double bind theory we talked about in which there is constant tension between femininity, competence and power (107). Her role expectations are restricted due to her gender and that confuses, and possibly makes people uncomfortable, when she pushed her limits in act to gain power. Just as African Americans have fought against racism to become equal in the political office, women, including Hillary Clinton have to fight their image to be taken seriously. Since this country was founded, men have been at the peak of our country, representing our country to the world. It is not to say women have never had the qualities, desire, or experience it simply has not occurred yet. It was not until Hillary Clinton that we saw a women have the passion, will, and determination to fight and go up against a male driven political campaign. Therefore, because she was competing against men, here female image was framed as something other than a woman because she had to conform to look strong against all men. We see several media images or innuendos constantly emerging about this. Even with Sarah Palin in the 2008 campaign where she faced tension between being a leader and being a mother at home with her children- yet, she could not be both. That has to be frustrating. Both Palin and Clinton want to be leaders and have a chance at making a difference in the world but they had resistance along the journey due to being in the spotlight as a wife and a mother before hand.
Dr. Anderson stated that during Clinton’s time as the first lady, before the 2000 Senate campaign, Hillary was seen as an “icon for feminism and a threat to femininity (or masculinity)” (109). The media and the consumers have preconceived notions about Hillary before she was even given a chance in her Senate campaign and later in her Presidential campaign. She was a representation of a bossy, bitchy, and strong woman rather than starting with a clean slate to build from.
Bill Clinton is also shown in the clip pulling Barrack Obama aside and saying, “You’ve got to win this thing! I’ve been living free for seven years and she keeps trying to pull me back into the no fun zone!” Not only is she stripped of her femininity, referred to as a homosexual and a bitch but also as emasculating her husband in this short cartoon. Since Hillary was recognized as the First Lady for 8 years, Dr. Anderson talked about in “Spouses to Candidates,” that she was seen as the “public wife and mother of Chelsea” (109). It was hard for her to break away from the labels “wife”, “mother”, and “first lady.”
Referring back to the “Queen Eliza-Bitch” comment, I wonder if being seen as a “bitch” was a strategic plan for Hillary. Was she putting up a front that she could be just as strong as the male political leaders out there? Perhaps it was an attempt to “blend in with the men,” if you will, to be seen as “mainstream?” She may have used it as a strategy to look as aggressive as the men in order to be taken seriously in politics. Women have not made their place just yet in the political world. Maybe she wanted to camouflage her femininity in order to break away from the “wife and mother” orientation or the “first lady” title. Should that be criticized? Is that a reason to focus more on the issue of her being a “bitch” rather than her view or stance on politics? It seems to me that we have slowly broken away from what needs to be focused on and what is truly important for politicians in our society today.
Gender and political image play on one another quite a bit these days. Now that more women are shown in leadership roles around the United States, women are challenging the double bind theory and proving that, “Yeah, maybe I can be strong, feminine and motherly all at the same time!” They are proving that women have the same capabilities and qualifications that men have to be leaders. I think that both Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton faced unfair and unjust obstacles into become leaders for America.
Works Cited
Anderson, Karrin. FROM SPOUSES TO CANDIDATES:HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, ELIZABETH DOLE, AND THE GENDERED OFFICE OF U.S. PRESIDENT. Rhetoric & Public Affairs. Vol. 5, No. 1, 2002, pp. 105-132.
A Very Dubya Halloween. www.current.com. October 25, 2007
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