The XX Factor: Slate women blog about politics, etc...

Calling for Another Literary Cliche

Agree entirely, D, that Clinton doesn't get to reduce her loss to sexism. But what's the evidence that she has? She made that one "demeaning to millions of women" comment this week. Bill Clinton apparently mentioned it. (Not sure that counts, since I remain convinced that he is half-engaged in sabotage.) There was the "iron my shirts" moment (a real instance). There was the pile-on comment after the Philadelphia debate. Maybe there are several more instances, and I'm just forgetting. Or is it more that we all notice and remark upon it when she plays the gender card than that she plays it often? This is a woman who has spoken several times a day, for 15 or so minutes, over 15 months. She has said a lot of things a lot more frequently than "poor me I'm a victim." Hasn't she?

The Linda Hirshman thing also seems to me overblown and overstated. Not that it's entirely or even mostly wrong, just that to argue that all powerful women are portrayed as harpies all the time is no more true and useful than any other universal catchall. I buy that it's often hard to be a powerful woman—and harder than it is to be a powerful man, because there are fewer safe and familiar moves to make. OK. But I think Clinton has pulled it off more than most, and more than she has screwed it up. She is not Blanche DuBois! [insert here second and third Tennessee William examples that I am too illiterate to think of.] That's part of why so many women keep voting for her. I think.