Among the women who have protested against Trump’s supposed misogyny, I’d like to ask the ones who are older than, say, forty, if they did the same during Bill Clinton’s presidency? Did they rail against Clinton’s well-documented sex scandals by marching on college campuses, or on the streets of major cities, or rally in Washington, DC? Did they cheer when an entertainer-turned-agitator expressed thoughts of 'blowing up’ Clinton’s White House? Did they compel NOW, and other leading women’s groups, to make statements in support of Clinton's female victims? Did they feel a sense of unity when high profile feminists castigated Clinton for his boorish behavior?
The answers are, of course, no.
See, there weren’t any protests against Clinton. Not on any campus. Or in any city. Or in DC. Further, there weren’t any well-known feminists taking Clinton to task for his actions, nor were there any women’s organizations defending Clinton's victims.
In fact, Clinton’s sexual misconduct while Arkansas Governor and Attorney General were overlooked by female Democrat voters in the 1992 primaries and, later, in the presidential election. When a sexual harassment suit was filed against Clinton by Paula Jones--for which he would eventually pay an $850,000 settlement and be stripped of his law license--was there any backlash from women? Nope, only against the victim. Clinton enjoyed increased support from female voters--from a 7 point margin in 1992 to a 15 point margin in the 1996 presidential election.
In Clinton's second term, when it became public that he had received fellatio in the Oval Office from an intern fresh out of college (a similar age of many of Saturday's protesters)--the investigation of which led in part to Clinton’s impeachment--were there any recriminations from leading feminists or women's groups at all? Moreover, did women make their voices heard regarding the fact that Clinton had humiliated his wife in the most public of ways numerous times over the decades they were married?
Again, the answers are no.
On Saturday, as I watched protesters in their Pink Pussy hats--many clearly old enough to remember Clinton’s presidency--and read Facebook posts from female friends and graduate school classmates who were Clinton supporters and voters in the 1990s, I was taken aback by their hypocrisy, but not surprised. Back then, Clinton was seen as young, handsome and charismatic, and the prevailing opinion was that Clinton’s infidelities and misogyny made him more manly, exactly the virility we would expect--and want--from our president. Sadly, it was the ultimate “boys will be boys” excuse.
And, just in case you were wondering: No, this was not gross ignorance by women because our society hadn’t yet progressed enough to recognize the implications of sexual assault or harassment. These issues are, rightly, much less tolerated now because of our collective enlightenment in the 1990s when it was an often-discussed public issue (due, in part, to the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill controversy of 1991).
So why did Clinton get a free pass for things he did, while Trump gets vilified for things he said?
It's not any more complicated than, back then, Clinton was 'their man.' Today, Trump is clearly the opposite.
It's hypocritical and offensive.
And they have the gall to wonder why the country is divided?
#donaldtrump #billclinton #pinkpussy #protests #monicalewinsky #paulajones
The answers are, of course, no.
See, there weren’t any protests against Clinton. Not on any campus. Or in any city. Or in DC. Further, there weren’t any well-known feminists taking Clinton to task for his actions, nor were there any women’s organizations defending Clinton's victims.
In fact, Clinton’s sexual misconduct while Arkansas Governor and Attorney General were overlooked by female Democrat voters in the 1992 primaries and, later, in the presidential election. When a sexual harassment suit was filed against Clinton by Paula Jones--for which he would eventually pay an $850,000 settlement and be stripped of his law license--was there any backlash from women? Nope, only against the victim. Clinton enjoyed increased support from female voters--from a 7 point margin in 1992 to a 15 point margin in the 1996 presidential election.
In Clinton's second term, when it became public that he had received fellatio in the Oval Office from an intern fresh out of college (a similar age of many of Saturday's protesters)--the investigation of which led in part to Clinton’s impeachment--were there any recriminations from leading feminists or women's groups at all? Moreover, did women make their voices heard regarding the fact that Clinton had humiliated his wife in the most public of ways numerous times over the decades they were married?
Again, the answers are no.
On Saturday, as I watched protesters in their Pink Pussy hats--many clearly old enough to remember Clinton’s presidency--and read Facebook posts from female friends and graduate school classmates who were Clinton supporters and voters in the 1990s, I was taken aback by their hypocrisy, but not surprised. Back then, Clinton was seen as young, handsome and charismatic, and the prevailing opinion was that Clinton’s infidelities and misogyny made him more manly, exactly the virility we would expect--and want--from our president. Sadly, it was the ultimate “boys will be boys” excuse.
And, just in case you were wondering: No, this was not gross ignorance by women because our society hadn’t yet progressed enough to recognize the implications of sexual assault or harassment. These issues are, rightly, much less tolerated now because of our collective enlightenment in the 1990s when it was an often-discussed public issue (due, in part, to the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill controversy of 1991).
So why did Clinton get a free pass for things he did, while Trump gets vilified for things he said?
It's not any more complicated than, back then, Clinton was 'their man.' Today, Trump is clearly the opposite.
It's hypocritical and offensive.
And they have the gall to wonder why the country is divided?
#donaldtrump #billclinton #pinkpussy #protests #monicalewinsky #paulajones
RSS Feed