Did you see the video of Hillary Clinton being called a b*tch at one of John McCain’s campaign appearances? Don’t feel bad if you didn’t it received very little media coverage. But lucky for you, you can check it out on YouTube at http://youtube.com/watch?v=WLQGWpRVA7o

Here’s a summary: Senator McCain was taking questions, and a woman asked “How do we beat the b*tch?” Her question was greeted by raucous laughter. After a very short attempt to remain serious (at first real, then feigned), McCain joined in the hilarity and said it was “an excellent question”(!). Then he talked about the “great respect” he has for Senator Clinton or any nominee of the “Democrat” (sic) party and how far ahead of her he is in the polls.

As a man widely hailed for his character and rectitude, I expected Senator McCain to denounce his supporter’s sexist characterization of another candidate, and to proclaim that obscenity and name-calling have no place in a civilized democratic election. (Really. I did. I am not being disingenuous for effect. If naïve, I am sincerely naïve). Granted, he was put on the spot and flustered, but people running for or serving as president have more challenging situations than this to deal with. At the very least, he could have given some indication that he did not support such a characterization rather than yukking it up and immediately acknowledging that the b*tch was, indeed, Hillary Clinton.

I have not joined in the complaints that Hillary’s opponents are “piling on”. That’s part of the challenge of any woman or man running for president. Question her policies, her record, her abilities, her character: every candidate should be put to those tests. But can you imagine anyone publicly referring to a male presidential candidate (and men have been running for a long time) as a b*stard, an as*hole, or a pr*ck? Or to Senator Barak Obama with the n-word? Either would be despicable and met with widespread outrage. Yet the first time a woman dares to raise her head above the crowd, she is denigrated with a female-specific obscenity-and with very little reaction.

We haven’t come a very long way, have we, baby? Remember the nineties? Newt Gingrich’s mom confided to Connie Chung in front of millions that Newt thought Hillary was “a b*tch”. Remember the eighties? When Barbara Bush was asked her opinion of Geraldine Ferarro she replied “I can’t say it, but it rhymes with rich.” Remember the twenties, thirties, forties, and fifties? Women candidates were virtually nonexistent. Remember before that? Oh, that’s right: we couldn’t even vote.

What a very special word “b*tch” is. With few exceptions, it is meant for women only. There is no derogatory term that does to men what “b*tch” does to women: demeans them for their sex alone. What obscenity is unique to men and is so ubiquitous that it is used at the drop of a hat to vilify them? Sure, a few subcultures have begun occasionally referring to men as b*tches, but the insult lies in comparing them to women. That’s the point.

And what makes Senator Clinton a b*tch? Does she steal other girls’ boyfriends? Does she talk behind people’s backs? Does she nag a long-suffering husband? (OK, don’t laugh: from the evidence we’ve actually seen, she’s been extroardinarily patient). Apparently, Hillary qualifies as a b*tch simply by being an uppity woman who dares to run for president.

The fact that a woman asked the question is no indication that it is not sexist. In fact, it’s an indication of just how pervasive sexism is (and that the questioner doesn’t know on which side her bread is buttered). Sometimes sexism is subtle, sometimes it’s concealed, and sometimes we’re so inured to it that we don’t even see it, but it’s there. Women who think it’s not should wake up and join the sisterhood.

If this incident had received more attention, would women have been more outraged? Or is the lack of women’s outrage why it received so little attention? And why aren’t the men of both parties repudiating such tactics? If a senatorial condemnation can be called for because a general’s name was punned in a newspaper ad, can’t someone suggest that calling a U.S. senator a b*tch in a national election is not good form?

As for me, I’m seething with outrage and frustration. And I’m going to get out there and vote for the long overdue first woman president. I urge other women (and men) to do the same.

Print This Article
Email (and more) with