Ending years of speculation and coy denials of presidential ambitions, Hillary Clinton officially announced her 2016 Presidential bid on April 12th. Clinton had garnered a major support base long before her announcement. According to a CBS News Poll 81% of Democrats said they would consider voting for her. So far none of Clinton’s potential Democrat rivals, including Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and former Virginia Senator Jim Webb, even come close to touching her.
With few challengers, and few strong Republican candidates on the horizon, and no shortage of what we know political campaigns really come down to (money), Clinton has a strong shot at the presidency. Even as a female. What is concerning is not her ability to be elected with respect to her gender, but rather the incessant rhetoric surrounding her gender.
I already feel eyes rolling – another feminist scolding the media for focusing on Clinton’s gender instead of her ideas and qualifications. Yes, this point has been belabored, but because it has to be belabored. Because the media still doesn’t get it.
As expected from the far right, many outlandish comments have been made surrounding Clinton’s ability to lead as a woman, including marketing CEO Cheryl Rios who told CNN, “With all the hormones we have there is no way we should be able to start a war.”
If it stopped with comments like this I’d be willing to brush off the right-wing crazies. But perhaps even more off-putting are articles like Time Magazine’s which argues that Clinton, as a postmenopausal woman, is at a perfect age and is “biologically primed” to lead.
The long phase of perimenopause is marked by seismic spikes and troughs of estrogen levels, which can last for more than a decade in many women. But afterward, there is a hormonal ebbing that creates a moment of great possibility. As a psychiatrist, I will tell you the most interesting thing about menopause is what happens after. A woman emerging from the transition of perimenopause blossoms. It is a time for redefining and refining what it is she wants to accomplish in her third act. And it happens to be excellent timing for the job Clinton is likely to seek. Biologically speaking, postmenopausal women are ideal candidates for leadership. They are primed to handle stress well, and there is, of course, no more stressful job than the presidency.
Are we really going to legitimize the discussion of Hillary Clinton’s hormones and menopausal status? Psychiatrist Dr. Julie Holland probably thinks she is doing a service by defending Clinton’s much-discussed gender and age through scientific jargon. Instead it implies that tying a woman’s competence to her hormones is a valid construct. An article would never be published concerning the testosterone levels of any male politician, despite that men experience a cycle of hormonal fluctuations as well. Forget about Clinton’s experience as a former first lady, senator, and secretary of state, her hormones are why you should vote for her.
Times are changing and white-male centric society is beginning to be challenged. In 2008 the nation was mostly energized by the idea of electing a black man to the presidency. While there was a segment of right-extremist bigots who fixated on Barack “Hussein” Obama, the majority of America saw right through radical Islamist conspiracy theories. For those consciously and subconsciously off-put by the color of his skin, he acted “white enough” for most.
But Hillary Clinton is a female – no way of easing into it. Outright prejudice won’t be the most dangerous in this election. What is more dangerous is the mainstream media validating our comfort in a male-dominated society through legitimizing discussions of irrelevant subjects such as gender biological differences.
If hormone talk is what we have to look forward to this election, our state of politics in the U.S. needs major repair. Let’s keep wisdom and gender separate, all I care about is Hillary Clinton’s wisdom and I challenge the mainstream media to do the same. But the sad truth is that if Clinton is elected to the presidency, we can probably look forward to years of hullabaloo over her outfits and how she is wearing her hair.
