Analysis Of On Being A Woman In Politics, By Hillary Rodham Clinton

The fight for equality between the sexes has been an ongoing struggle for American women since the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the 1920s (Schuessler, 2019). Throughout history, select members of society have viewed women as inferior to the male population; viewing them as stupid, weak, emotional … etc. But, this can change. And this change needs to start with women. In this essay, I will be summarizing the chapter, On Being a Woman in Politics, from Hillary Rodham Clinton’s book, What Happened; covering her and other women’s experiences with American Politics. The main focus of my response will be on my own experiences as a woman and how Clinton’s experiences can apply to settings outside of politics.

In this chapter of Clinton’s book, she

Clinton does admit that she was nervous to tell her story since she “didn’t want people to see [her] as the ‘women candidate’ … but rather as the best candidate whose experience as a woman in a male-dominated culture made her sharper, tougher, and more competent” (Clinton, p. 2). Throughout Clinton’s writing, she stresses how important female presence is in politics. She brings up how her work with different communities helps her “[understand] the intricacies of people’s lives” (Clinton, p. 6) and agrees that her “work on so-called women’s and children’s issues prepared [her]” (Clinton, p. 6). She states that in politics “it is women who do a lot of the … identifying problems, bringing together stakeholders, [and] building effective coalitions” (Clinton, p. 7). Admitting that her political style can be viewed as ‘female’ because she “[focuses] on listening over speaking” (Clinton, p.7). Consequently, without ‘women's skills’ politics would not be where it is

The idea brought up of appearance being crucial for a woman’s success makes me think the most about my presence in society. Clinton did not mean just having a clean professional appearance. But, instead how women need to abide by the male gaze just to be seen in their profession. However, this does not necessarily mean that women will be seen as people.

Growing up my appearance quickly became an important aspect of who I was. By the age of ten I was gifted my first tube of mascara. Personally, I thought it would make me fit in but my classmates thought differently. I was constantly asked why I was wearing makeup; which I thought I was supposed to do as a girl. But, why did I think this way? Why was my appearance so important to me at such a young age? I have been trying to answer these questions myself and I think it is because of media pushing these ideologies onto young girls in an attempt to shape them into what society sees as ‘womanly’.

Clinton also brings up her and another woman’s experience with their appearance in