It's good to be the Honey Badger

Any woman who goes into politics, regardless of her political party or philosophical leanings, must know, unless she's a total idiot, that she's going to be a victim of the double standard. The media and quite often the voters as well will look at her and the first questions that come to mind will be about her appearance.

Is she pretty?

Who does her hair?

Where does she buy her clothes and what designers does she use?

Is she maybe just a little bit pudgy?

Not to put too fine a point on it, is her butt too big?

Does she have wrinkles in her face?

Does she ever appear to be tired?

After all that, if there's any time left, they may consider what her stands are on "women's issues." Heaven forbid that she should have any opinions on the larger issues that face the country and the world! I can only imagine how very frustrating that must be for a serious woman with serious and informed opinions and well-reasoned views about the world. A woman like - oh, I don't know - Hillary Clinton, for example.

Clinton, throughout her career in public life, has been a lightning rod for haters who love to excoriate her for her hairstyles, her pantsuits, her figure, and anything else about her appearance that doesn't meet their strict definition of beauty. But, while this might have been hurtful to Hillary at earlier points in her life, she has now reached a point - an age - where she really doesn't give a crap what you think about her appearance! Mary Elizabeth Williams had a nice column in Salon.com today that made that point very well.
“Would you ever ask a man that question?” Hillary Clinton gave that reply two years ago, when an interviewer in Kyrgyzstan innocently asked the secretary of state, “Which designers do you prefer?” But when the Boston Review posted the exchange on its site Wednesday, it became a viral sensation — and just the newest example of how much kicking butt and taking names Ms. Clinton is doing lately.
For those of us who admire the woman, as, clearly, I do, it is really nice to see her able to relax and enjoy herself, enjoy her role as Secretary of State, and concentrate on the things that are important to her, not on what she will wear or how she will style her hair tomorrow. She looks like a 64-year-old, hard-working, well-traveled woman, a woman who has important things to do and accomplish for herself and for her country. As Williams says in her article, Clinton has become the Honey Badger who is just going to be herself no matter what you think.  Yeah, it is really, really good to be the Honey Badger.

Comments

  1. Susan August 18, 2012 at 7:36 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Susan August 18, 2012 at 7:37 AM

    I love Hillary! She is a terrific role model for young women today.

    ReplyDelete

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