CDZ Gender/Gender Role Inequality and Hillary Clinton

[320 Years of History]

Thread Topic:
The nature and extent to which conscious and/or subconscious ideas about gender/gender roles factor into how voters perceive Hillary Clinton.

What is not the thread topic:
Everything else. This is not the thread for engaging in discussion about what other things may or may not be a factor in how voters perceive Hillary Clinton. Create your own thread to do that if you want to discuss those things.


Rubric:
Some 30+ years ago I as a requirement of joining my firm's management ranks, I had to attend a training seminar about gender, gender roles and how they affect the way men and women interact and perceive one another. During the seminar, we watched a series of videos and skits wherein men and women interacted with each other said the same things, behaved the same way, and dressed in various person+attire combinations -- executive, mid-level, lower level, and blue collar. After each short portrayal, we were asked to record our thoughts about the character/personality -- trustworthiness, authority, kindness, fairness, mood, etc. -- of the men and women. Our answers were placed in envelopes with our names on them and stored. Over the course of the intervening two days we listened to lectures from researchers about gender roles, how gender biases both men's and women's views of one another, and so on. On the final day of the seminar, we re-watched videos and watched video recordings of the live skits and then we were asked to read our "Day 1" remarks and determine whether we agreed with ourselves.

Wow! What an eye-opener that experience was! I recall thinking at the start of the seminar, "What a waste of my time this will be. I don't have any bias against/for women or men, at least not outside of the bedroom." I remember during the lectures thinking, "Okay, maybe some folks are like that. I'm not. Maybe some of this 'stuff' is real, but some of it just seems absurd, unless they are talking about total jerks and idiots." Nothing could have been farther from the truth. Without any good reason, I perceived men as more believable, more level headed, smarter, etc. I didn't even know that was going on in my head.

I found out that I had the same biases as most people in my social cohort -- white, male, high performing, well educated, wealthy. Surprisingly to me, the six women in the group were victim of the same cultural influences as the men; they merely manifested them differently. One person in our group of ~20 -- black, male, high performing, well educated, humble economic background -- was mostly fair minded about men and women.


This morning on CNN I heard a short segment in which the topic of discussion was the astoundingly large lead Trump has over Hillary Clinton among white, non-college educated men. The person being interviewed stated that it was all but certain that a meaningful share of Mrs. Clinton's lag with that section of the electorate is due to cultural attitudes about women.

Well, that seemed plausible enough to me. I'm wondering if any folks here have considered whether they may be in the same situation I was years ago and if that may have something to do with how they perceive Mrs. Clinton? (Note: The question isn't about whether your perception is positive or negative, but rather whether cultural bias may have something to do with it.)

Reference Materials:

• Men as Cultural Ideals: How Culture Shapes Gender Stereotypes
  
• Women in Leadership: The Stereotyping of Women
  
• How Men And Women Differ: Gender Differences in Communication Styles, Influence Tactics, and Leadership Styles
  
• Are women inherently less trustworthy than men? (Answer: No, but people believe it.)
  
• You Don’t Like Hillary Clinton Because She’s A Woman
  
• 
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  
• Are You Biased against Women Leaders?
  
• GENDER BIAS WITHOUT BORDERS AN INVESTIGATION OF FEMALE CHARACTERS IN POPULAR FILMS
  
• The One Demographic That Is Hurting Hillary Clinton
  
• Study shows gender bias in science is real. Here s why it matters.
  
• Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students

 

[Blackrook]

I liked Maggie Thatcher, and if I lived in her time, I probably would have liked Queen Elizabeth I. I also had a woman boss for four years and we worked well together.

My problem with Hillary Clinton is not that she is a woman, but that she went about her rise to power in the wrong way. Instead of running for office on her own, she married a man who ran for office, and then leveraged that to help her own career. When she was First Lady, she illegally assumed power as "co-President" that she was not elected to. This disregard for the law followed her to the State Department, where she got in so much trouble for doing what she did as First Lady, hiding her communications to hide the fact that she was breaking the law.

 

[JoeMoma]

I concede that I am biased. That being said, I would like to see our 1st female president earn the position on her own merits, not leveraging the power and position of her husband.

 

[Pilate]

To answer your question in a word: no.

 

[320 Years of History]

Instead of running for office on her own, she married a man who ran for office, and then leveraged that to help her own career.

I would like to see our 1st female president earn the position on her own merits, not leveraging the power and position of her husband.

I think neither of you has the first inkling of a clue as to what extent nearly every successful person is aided in their efforts by others. I have news for you: nobody can vote for Bill Clinton as President and as a consequence of that get Hillary Clinton serving in that position.

• You don't think for one minute that George W. managed to become President by not to a degree riding on his father's coattails, do you? John Adams --> John Quincy Adams...The same dynamic was in play there as well.
• The idea that Hillary Clinton is not a bright and capable person who has the mental acuity to serve as President is just absurd. She is that regardless of whether her husband was or was not President.

I know you cannot possibly think that scores of people do not avail themselves of their parents' or spouses' achievements/position/wealth as part of what makes them successful too. To not do that would be just plain stupid.

 

[Toronado3800]

I have never been tested but have been aware of a problem dealing with "the other sex" for sometime. My experience was watching a female dispatcher do the same thing I was doing with not necessarily less success in all ways but less in some.

Really I don't blame anyone, it is just the way it is and something which maybe I have worked on.

Far as Hillary being "qualified"? You can't say she is crooked old Hillary who has been doing shady political things forever and turn around and say she has no experience.

She also has been "around" the Presidency for two decades. The gal knows what she is getting into and who she will be dealing with.

Now she may be right or wrong or indifferent in her opinions but this girl has been around the block. (never thought I could say that in a respectful way about a woman!)

 

[320 Years of History]

You can't say she is crooked old Hillary who has been doing shady political things forever and turn around and say she has no experience.

Exactly!