Don’t Look for Your Mom in Our Presidential Candidates

For a long time, history has kept men and women in very different spheres. Today, many steps have been taken towards equality, but there are still stubborn social barriers we have yet to overcome. As we find ourselves in a highly polarized campaign season, it’s hard to ignore the different ways people react based on gender. When Hilary steps out in public she is immediately judged based on her appearance, from wardrobe to the wrinkles on her face. Some would even say that the media focuses more on these superficial aspects than her actual policies. 

Furthermore, the media often calls Hilary cold and criticizes her for a lack of passion. The public looks at female politicians and they search for words such as warm, nurturing, and kind. But no one would look for those same attributes in any of the male candidates. 

Men running for office are meant to be strong, confident, and powerful on their positions. But when a women demonstrates the same qualities, they tend to get harshly criticized. It’s not to say that everyone analyzes politicians in a biased way, and women certainly are guilty just as much as men, but it is enough of a problem to greatly disadvantage female candidates.  It just doesn’t work out for women when they try to play along in the boys club. Whether it be a female teacher or a politician, the average person judges them based on their “motherly” qualities. 

The problem is, these are public figures important to everyone’s daily lives. When we are looking for the next world leader, we shouldn’t be looking for our mom but instead for an individual. Someone independent of bias who believes in their own ideals in order to work for the common good.    

If you want to demonstrate a true democratic system, just think a little bit harder about how you analyze the candidates differently the next time you jump into the political arena.

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

• campaign
• feminism
• gender gap
• hilary clinton
• politics
• sexism