To find Hillary Clinton likable, we must learn to view women as complex beings

[gollygee]

http://boingboing.net/2016/09/15/to-find-hillary-clinton-likabl.html

Whether you realize it or not, you’ve spent your entire life being trained to empathize with white men. From Odysseus to Walter White, Hamlet to Bruce Wayne, James Bond to the vast majority of biopic protagonists, our art consistently makes the argument that imperfect, even outright villainous, men have an innate core of humanity. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Good art should teach us to empathize with complex people. The problem comes not from the existence of these stories about white men, but from the lack of stories about everyone else.

That’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot during this increasingly insane presidential election season. Particularly as I try to wrap my head around the fact that Hillary Clinton is on one hand the most qualified human being to ever run for president of the United States, and, on the other, one of the most disliked presidential candidates of all time. In fact, Donald Trump is the only candidate who is more disliked than Clinton. And he’s not only overtly racist, sexist, and Islamophobic, but also unfit and unprepared for office. How can these two fundamentally dissimilar politicians possibly be considered bedfellows when it comes to popular opinion?

(Snlip)

But Clinton is different. Even many of those who plan to vote for her admit they don’t find her particularly likable. According to The Washington Post, just 33 percent of Clinton supporters are “very enthusiastic” about supporting her while 46 percent of Trump supporters say the same about their candidate. (For the record, Clinton—like most women—tends to be far more popular when she’s in office than when she’s running for one.) Pundits usually blame Clinton’s favorability issues on her perceived caginess, her tone, and her general awkwardness when it comes to public speaking. Essentially: Clinton’s flaws make her unlikable.

But that’s not the case for male politicians. In fact, it’s often their flaws that make them likable. After all, on paper the idea of an old disheveled man yelling sounds downright unpleasant. But in practice Bernie Sanders is an utterly charming and refreshing political figure. And while one might assume Joe Biden’s frequent gaffes and penchant for using words like “malarkey” would make him seem hopelessly old-fashioned, those are precisely the qualities that have transformed him into a beloved darling of the social media age. And Clinton’s own running mate, Tim Kaine, provides a particularly interesting contrast because he shares so much of her awkwardness. Yet far from being condemned for it, he was lovingly hailed as “America’s nerdy stepdad” after his speech at this year’s Democratic National Convention.

[upaloopa]

1. To find Hillary like able is to learn to accept

people for what they are not what we want them to be.

[HockeyMom]

2. ALL Human Beings are Complex

We are not carbon copies of each other whether we are male, or female. Geesch. If you are male, are you just like Donald Trump?

[gollygee]

3. You didn't read it, did you?

It gives examples of likeable men who are not like Donald Trump.

[yeoman6987]

4. The last 35 years have been who is most like able wins

This year is different as both are considered unlikable by the public. So why not chose most experienced? That makes sense to me. I wish there were 75 million of me who takes experience over likability.

[Egnever]

5. And yet people love Elizabeth Warren.

Not the most hip of women. Yet she is beloved by many.

Just saying, I ain't buying what this article is selling.

[betsuni]

6. Great article, thank you! (nt)

[gollygee]

8. You're welcome! Nt

[Cairycat]

7. Hillary's likeability, like many women's, is a complex thing

However I can point to a moment where Hillary became much more human and likeable to me, a Bernie supporter:
it was behind the scenes video of the convention. There's a shot where Hillary is watching Chelsea speaking to the convention, on a monitor backstage. Hillary exclaims, "She's so pretty!". And it just struck me then, that is exactly what I would say, seeing my daughter like that. And it just made me more able to relate to her.

[bhikkhu]

9. I learned that from my mom long ago

Growing up, she left for work before I got up for school and came home late, tired. We watched the news together having dinner, she knitted and sometimes read to us before bed. My grandma was more the daily presence who helped raise us and gave us a hard time if we needed it. I remember one day I went to work with my mom on a "bring your kids" day of some sort - she was sharp and competent, and lots of people answered to her and came to her for help, definitely an eye-opener.

People have many sides, all of us, and they don't all have to rhyme or make up some narrative-fitting whole as we might imagine it; there is real beauty and real humanity in unexpected difference. I have no doubt in Hillary's competence for the job, which is the primary thing we should demand in a candidate - much more important than likability.

Con-men and politicians build careers on likabilty; those without it just have to work hard and do their jobs well.

[lindysalsagal]

10. MOst men believe women are here for their own satisfaction:

1. Mommy
2. Sexual Object
3. Victim.

But they resent it when real women turn out to be other than the extremes: Madonna/whore.