2015 was an exciting year for Hillary Clinton fans. We cheered her on as she officially launched her candidacy, ooh-ed and ah-ed as she raised a boatload of money, and breathed heavy sighs of relief when she kicked butt during the first few Democratic debates. If the polls are right, Hillary fans are ready to see her crush the competition in the upcoming Democratic primaries, and we’re ready to root her on to win it all in November.
As I reflect back on 2015 and Hillary’s candidacy thus far, I have much to say about the missing feminist groundswell to support her campaign. Most of my feminist friends (if such categorizations can be made) are tepidly supporting her, if that. Instead of creating fun websites, blogs, and Tumblr posts in the same vein as Notorious RBG or Feminist Ryan Gosling – feeds about what an amazing feminist Hillary is and will be as our next president – it feels like many of us women’s rights supporters have stayed pretty quiet.
In fact, I’d wager more was written about how Hillary is not feminist enough, not the right type of feminist, not connecting with certain women, or why feminists should support Bernie Sanders than a) why feminists are excited to support Hillary and b) any feminist analyses of relevant campaign issues (e.g. sexism, sexism, and also, sexism). More on this soon.
Despite all this, I did read a handful of very compelling pieces about Hillary and feminism in 2015. So, while there weren’t oodles of them to choose, I’ve compiled a list of my top 5 feminist articles about Hillary Clinton from 2015 here:
1. Lena Dunham interviews Hillary Clinton
In the kickoff edition of Lenny http://www.lennyletter.com/, Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner’s interesting newsletter that covers feminism and politics among other topics, Dunham interviews Hillary. Here, twenty-something Dunham asks Hillary the “question on every Lenny reader’s lips: Do you consider yourself a feminist?”, allowing Hillz to answer forcefully: absolutely.
The Lenny Interview: Hillary Clinton
2. Feministing blogger Dana Bolger takes on the “Millennials hate Hillary” trope
I love Feministing, and Dana Bolger offers a great example of why it’s such a great feminist blog with her post ripping the Sunday New York Times’ “think piece” on what Bolger calls the “feminist generation war.” Bolger rightly characterizes this war—and the idea perpetuated by these types of articles that older women “get” feminism and thus support Hillary, while younger women just aren’t that smart and therefore don’t support her—as dangerous.
Dear New York Times: The Real Reason Young Feminists Reject Hillary
3. Michelle Goldberg shares her experiences as a Hillary supporter among Bernie fans
I want to pin Michelle Goldberg’s line that Bernie Sanders’ campaign has “unleashed a minor plague of progressive white men confidently explaining feminism to the rest of us” on my wall for the next time I have a conversation with someone about why supporting Hillary isn’t what feminism is about. Myokay dokay.
4. Suzanna Danuta Walters lays out her case for supporting Hillary
The Nation is such a progressive, left-leaning publication that Suzanna Danuta Walters’ piece about why she’s supporting Hillary could actually be considered provoking in itself. Walters lays out her case for why Hillary in the White House would benefit the women’s equality movement, from policy to politics to needed culture shifts.
Why This Socialist Feminist Is for Hillary
5. Sady Doyle takes on the misogynist attacks against Hillary Clinton and questions why liking her is a subversive act
In this thought-provoking piece, Sady Doyle tackles Hillary’s “likeability” issues, telling us that liking Hillary has become a subversive act. Doyle also asks her readers how long they would make it if people treated them the way many treat Hillary. I couldn’t agree with Doyle more that it’s not fair that Hillary must “climb over a barbed-wire fence of hatred in order to change the world.”
So, dear readers, those are my top 5. Are there others I missed? Send them my way! And because writing it on the interwebs makes it true, in addition to building my upper body strength and meditating more, my New Years’ resolution is to help grow this list in 2016.
AMBER SHIPLEY 