How feminists explain the phenomenon of women voting for Donald Trump
A passionate Hillary Clinton supporter posted “Female Trump Supporters Don’t Really Care About His Sexism” to his Facebook status with some re-posted additions from a like-minded friend. Here was some of the stuff that his friend had added and with which my friend was apparently agreeing:
Sandy: They are Evangelical Christians who do not believe that they are worth anything more than what a man tells them they are. Religion is why there are so many women who follow and not lead in church. They are indoctrinated into believing that a woman is never to lead a man.
Patsy: Speaking as someone raised in the South-They are used to a loud mouth bigot alpha male to run their families and thought process for them and so they respond very well to Trump….he is Tennessee Williams “Big Daddy” for many of the Trumpettes.
Denise: Until he walks the gauntlet next to them and personally deconstructs their looks….You’re too fat, You look too old, You’re not tall enough, You’re too flat-chested……then watch them change their minds when it becomes personal. For the dumb ones…that’s what it takes.
I questioned whether he, a persistently vocal male feminist, hadn’t just posted an article “asserting, essentially, that millions of American women are too stupid to perceive their self-interest.” The ensuing exchange:
Him: Not quite the way I would word it. I’d say that too many women are raised in a misogynistic culture that undermines their egos and their potential, and knowing nothing else, never have the opportunity to appreciate or grow into their best selves. I am absolutely NOT insulting their intelligence or their choices.
Me: Perhaps they need a man like yourself to guide them then? Show them how to think and vote?
His friend:I think you’re twisting the logic – [He] said it best – not growing up in an environment that allows them to achieve their full potential as people/citizens/workers. It’s blatantly obvious in countries with strict religious doctrines that subordinate women – just not as severe with evangelicals here.
Background on this Trump-hating Clinton supporter: he works for the federal government in a job that requires U.S. citizenship and a tech PhD, so his job is safe from both immigrants (no citizenship) and children of the next batch of immigrants (will not reach PhD age before he retires).
Related:
- the Feminism section within the Rationale chapter of Real World Divorce, with university professors explaining how a woman withdrawing from the labor market and living off child support profits is a recognizably “feminist” goal
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