Small P and Large P Politics and the F Word

Earlier this week I was invited to sit on a panel discussion regarding the 2016 Presidential Election and our Trump future. I chose to look at the role women played in the electoral outcome, particularly “white women.” Specifically, I wanted to respond to Samantha Bee’s show following the election where she made impassioned accusations that white Americans, particularly white women, had failed Hillary Clinton. This was also a response to a number of colleagues who in the week following the election would in scandalous tones exclaim that Trump had won anywhere between 50% to 70% of the vote of white women. The actual total was closer to 53%.   The astonishment was that, ’white women had for some extraordinary reason (the unsaid statement that they had allowed their race to overshadow their gender) had turned against their own best interesst and abandoned what should have been the first woman President!” I agree with the assessment of the Centre for American Women and Politics...

A few weeks ago, I re-posted an article about how this year’s American Presidential election was a referendum on male entitlement. Well we now have our answer. While Clinton ‘won’ the popular vote, the low turnout of democratic voters, the overall vote in the mid-west and industrial swing states, and the willingness of a substantial number of women (42% of women voters according to the Pew Research Center Facttank) who voted for Trump indicates a significant plurality of American voters are comfortable enough with male entitlement to support a man who has historically and consistently imposed himself on women’s bodies without their consent. This raises the question of why a substantial portion of a society is willing to accept a rapist and serial sexual abuser in the highest office over a woman career politician. Part of the explanation certainly is the prevalence of a rape culture in the United States. Wikipedia is quite clear in its definition of rape culture; “a setting in w...

Throughout the campaign, it’s been noted that Clinton is more popular when she’s not a candidate. She was, generally speaking, more popular as Secretary of State, as First Lady, and New York Senator than as a presidential candidate (although some of the differences are not that large). And this discrepancy, such as it is, is often attributed to gender factors. The underlying assumption is that people like women just fine as public servants, but dislike them as ambitious candidates trying to move up the political ladder. This story isn’t as clear or neat as that – but it is a central way that people have understood Clinton’s candidacy. The reverse was true of Obama. People loved candidate Obama more than President Obama. It’s somewhat tough to compare, because his and Clinton’s career trajectories have been so different. But in 2008, candidate Obama was quite popular . His political troubles started once he got into office and started promoting policies like the economic stimul...

As with back-seat driving or Monday morning quarterbacking, there is a grand tradition in politics to second guess the primary actors and prognosticate on what they should have and should do. I am not immune to such pronouncement, as my significant other vociferously complains of when they are driving. So in preparation of the third Presidential debate on Wednesday, this is what I think Clinton should do: focus on children. It should be all about children. We got a preview of this focus during the second debate when Clinton was very clear about her commitment to and the years she has spent in public service as a lawyer, First Lady (FLOTUS), and a Senator. This was smart because it clearly demonstrated two things, 1) her experience in public service and public policy-making in contradistinction to Trump's lack thereof, and 2) highlights a particular brand of femininity, matronly maternalism. This second demonstration itself serves two purposes, 1) it points to a form of accep...

For my 2255E class, sorry for forgetting to formally announce the cancellation of the Oct. 14th class. This piece by Leslie Bennetts of the Guardian covers much of what we have discussed regarding the U.S. election over the past three weeks. Leslie Bennetts. “Enough is enough: the 2016 election is now a referendum on male entitlement” The Guardian, October 14, 2016 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/14/donald-trump-male-entitlement-women-2016-election Lashing out at his accusers this afternoon, Donald Trump attacked all the women who say he has groped, kissed or inspected them naked without their consent. He called them “ horrible, horrible liars ” and vowed to sue the New York Times for reporting their accounts. Minutes before the Florida rally where Trump declared war on women and the media, Michelle Obama offered a diametrically opposite view of reality and morality at a campaign appearance in New Hampshire. Condemning Trump’s conduct as “intolerable”, she for...

Despite the ravages of the world economic crisis still felt throughout the Americas, participation of women in labor markets has risen significantly in recent years. It should be noted nevertheless that they are still relegated to the most precarious, non/under-paid jobs. Despite reforms meant to improve their careers, considerable inequalities persist. The gendered dimension of the informal sector needs to be revisited, all the more so as the latter is no longer exclusive to the South, notably among immigrant working women in the North. While their presence in some specific sectors has expanded, including management positions – also thanks to “affirmative action” measures aimed at encouraging parity and equal treatment between women and men – the emerging minimalist welfare state paradigm undercuts support, first and foremost, to families, and thus to women.  Bien que l’on ressente encore les méfaits de la crise économique mondiale sur l’ensemble du continent amér...