Kamala Harris has already made history as the first woman Vice President of the United States and also the first woman of colour to hold that important office. The question is: Is America finally ready for a woman President, and that too, a woman of colour?
It is true that 2024 is not 2016 when Hillary Clinton contested and lost against Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’s rise comes at a time when more and more women are holding high office, including as many as 120 representatives in the US Congress and 25 senators.
America has come a long way. According to a Gallup poll, in 1958, just 54 per cent of respondents said they would vote for a woman president. That went up to 93 per cent in January 2024.
Misogyny at the heart of politics
But make no mistake. Misogyny is very much at the heart of American politics. Reflecting on the role that sexism played in her defeat, Hillary Clinton recently told ‘The New York Times’ that women were the voters who abandoned her in the final days because she was not “perfect.”. “They left me because they just couldn’t take a risk on me, because as a woman, I’m supposed to be perfect.
They were willing to take a risk on Trump — who had a long list of, let’s call them flaws, to illustrate his imperfection — because he was a man, and they could envision a man as president and commander in chief,” she said.
Clinton’s former aide, Huma Abedin has described the constant sexism Clinton faced during the campaign, from “advice” on how to dress (“wear cheerful colours”, “wear dark colours”), to comments that she was too “loud”.
Women are always judged more harshly than their male counterparts but for a Black woman, the stakes are even higher. A small example is Trump’s attempt to mock Kamala Harris’s laugh, which is now famous all over the world. He called her “crazy” for the way she laughs. How dare a strong, independent Black woman laugh the way that she wants to. This reeks of the worst kind of misogyny.
Snapshot of Trump voters
Trump has reportedly been flustered by Harris’ large crowds at rallies and in true Trump style he keeps calling her “nasty”. Any woman who challenges him is derided and called names. He is clearly threatened by powerful women and a strong woman of colour is really messing with his head.
And yet his conduct with women have not made a dent in his popularity among his Republican vote bank. What does that tell you about Trump voters?
I have always found American politics fascinating for its sheer hypocrisy and sexism. Where politicians must present this perfect image of the perfect marriage, the perfect children and the perfect moral values.
Male politicians must have their wives standing by the side. Kamala Harris however does not fit into any of these stereotypical tropes. She has been career woman all her life who chose not to have biological children. Trump’s Vice Presidential pick, JD Vance, has faced a huge backlash for old comments referring to Harris and other Democrat women leaders as “childless cat ladies”.
No, 2024 is not 2016 but the undercurrents of sexism are very much alive. The question is whether Harris will be able to stunt these and pull through.
At the moment, she’s giving Trump a tough, neck and neck fight and even leading in some battleground states. If these numbers hold or gap widens, expect Trump to get more hysterical in the days and weeks ahead. This election will tell the world where America really stands on gender, race and sexism.
