The grassroots movement in support of Hillary Clinton running for president in 2016 is called “Ready for Hillary.”
Are we ready for Hillary?
We were faced with a similar situation in the 2008 election.
President Obama and Clinton represent two different groups running for an office for which, until fairly recently, they could not even vote.
Similar situations, but not quite the same.
So, maybe we generally don’t have the impression in society that women are sub-standard to men — not that is explicitly discussed, anyway.
There is a whole set of logistical problems that would come with being a female president.
In a 2012 article by the Guardian, Barack Obama said he wears only blue or gray suits “in order to cut down on non-vital decisions.”
For a female president, her choice of wardrobe will be more heavily scrutinized.
In 2009, then Secretary of State Clinton attended a United Nations General Assembly wearing a butterfly clip to keep her bangs off her face.
The backlash was intense. Critics and the fashion world were abuzz with her grave fashion faux-pas.
Clinton probably does not consider her hair a “vital decision,” and would not treat it as such if she were president.
But the fact is, if she is elected leader of the free world, Hillary Clinton will make some fashion errors. She will have to put up with snarky articles about her hair.
Even in what is likely the most high-pressure job in the world, a female president would still be expected to keep her roots from growing in, to be sure her makeup looks fresh, to ensure her suit doesn’t make her look fat. The president will not be immune to the unrealistic expectations for women in our society.
She must be tough but not callous, good-looking but not vain.
Every president has to fight to keep the support of the people. The last election helped shatter our image of a trustworthy president as being white, and now we have a different image to change.
France did it 22 years ago, and Great Britain did it 34 years ago, but we have yet to elect a female leader.
And so we still must shatter the image of a well-tailored suit and tie as indications of power and see if we can trust a president in a skirt.
Gender inequalities and stereotypes are still inescapable in this country.
Hillary Clinton has been fighting and beating gender stereotypes for decades. Politics aside, I think she’s ready to take on the historic task.
Are you?
— cjellert@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Caroline Ellert on Twitter @cjellert.
Ready for Hillary?
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