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“Likeable Enough”: Women, Anger, and the Shocking Audacity of Having Emotions
I have noticed some things recently that made me think back to past events. I am tired of being put in an emotional box because I am a woman.
Barack Obama once told Hillary Clinton in a debate, “You’re likable enough.”
Let me translate that from Political to Real Life:
“Pipe down, bitch. You’re lucky anyone tolerates you at all.”
That was a presidential debate—a stage where men get to roar, smirk, and thump their chests. Hillary raised an eyebrow, and suddenly, we were all wondering if she had a secret bunker full of severed heads and pantsuits.
And Obama is a great man who I think doesn’t have a sexist or misogynistic bone in his body. I voted for him twice and worked on the 2012 Democratic Convention. I wish I could vote for him again.
It’s exhausting, really. The emotional gymnastics women have to do. We’re told to be strong, but not hard. Kind, but not soft. Bold, but not bossy. Apparently, there’s a very specific shade of beige we’re all supposed to feel, and anything outside of that is a crisis.
Amy Klobuchar was vilified for being mean to her staff. Mean.