Hilary Clinton invites the Patriarchy for a Re-Match in 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EGranwN_uk

 Tomorrow, Hilary Clinton is expected to announce her candidacy for the democratic seat in the US elections 2016. This is extremely exciting news for feminists, women and men alike because Hilary Clinton is not just a woman; she is a self-proclaimed feminist woman. This news prompted a discussion around my dinner table at home trying to name as many elected (so the Queen doesn’t count) female heads of state we could name. I think we managed about 1 or 2. Having a female president in the US would hopefully increase this number due to role model systems. Then there is the very basic issue of representation; at long last women would (hopefully) be represented in the highest rungs of American governance. This might (hopefully) bring even a marginal end to slut-shaming, rape, poverty, domestic violence, prejudice and a myriad of other problems women face in America. In pursuing a feminist agenda, Clinton is also (hopefully) implicitly perusing an LGBT rights, anti-racist, anti-inequality agenda. There are a lot of hopefuls in that paragraph and perhaps I expect too much but as a woman AND a feminist I would like to remain optimistic for the time being. Here are just a couple of times Clinton turned the patriarchy on its head: in 2008 when she lost to Obama she said:

“We may not have smashed the biggest glass ceiling of all time but there are about 18 million dents in it!”

And when asked how she would beat Jeb Bush she responded:

“If I want a front page cover I just have to change my haircut”

When on the campaign trail with Bill Clinton:

“I suppose I could’ve stayed home and baked cookies and had teas but what I decided to do was to fulfil my profession which I entered before my husband was even in public life”

She has campaigned for women and girls rights her entire life and contrary to stereotypical assumptions about women in politics foreign policy (although I may not agree with it) is her strong suit. In 2011 only 6% of the worlds defence ministers were women and it is continually a role that is dominated, even more than most, by men. Her campaign ticket will orbit around her experience in this department and the White House more generally, given her position as a secretary of state during which she covered thousands of miles flying all around the globe.

Despite spending her entire life fighting off pubic scandals surrounding her confidence (as a woman), her husband and her refusal to sit at home and ‘bake cookies’ it is important that we understand Clinton as her own woman and not simply as an extension of her husband or these scandals. She has built herself an empire of support in the White House and on the streets however, her policy agenda is extremely vague at the present. With the official announcement of her campaign her policies will surely become clear. Clear and (I hope) feminist policies that will tackle gender inequality head on. As the US clings on to its hegemony in the world order, with a woman at its helm, women’s rights fights would guide the way for the rest of the world to follow suit. With some bookies placing her odds at up to 91% this seems optimistically possible. Although there is a long way to go before April 2016.

Despite the inevitability of sexism along the way in both the media and real life experiences of her campaign, it will be fascinating to see how the White House would get shaken up with a woman at its helm. Firstly, the patriarchal construction of First Lady, which is a loaded, out-dated and oppressive term that expects a woman to quite literally stand in the shadows of a man and keep her mouth shut, would have to be abolished. I would highly doubt Bill Clinton would be referred to as the “First Gentleman” and thus it would force the administration to come up with a more equal and respectful term such as “honorary companion” or something similar. These are the sorts of traditions that would be forced to be done away with and although they may seem insignificant they are small steps towards a more representative and equal ‘land of the free.’ (I write that with my tongue very much in my cheek!)