100 Years Later, Sexism Persists

(Opinion) One hundred years ago today, on Aug. 18, 1920, the U.S. Congress ratified the 19th Amendment, granting women the long-overdue legal right to vote.

But on this centennial, are Connecticut voters focused on the accomplishments of female political leaders? Is our attention undivided in noting America’s first major-party vice-presidential nomination of a Black woman?

Not really. Because what has obscured women’s contributions to politics is – you guessed it – the latest onslaught of violence against women, ranging from the scandalous cover-up of suspected domestic abuse by a male Connecticut Congressional aspirant, to a series of sexist, racist and puerile memes by two elected officials in Haddam which depict Sen. Kamala Harris as a ​“hoe” (sic) who engages in indiscriminate fellatio.

It’s tempting to see these attacks as blanket sexism, but the reality is that while it’s true some Democrats have a sexist streak, there is no denying that the widespread online attacks of female politicians are almost always done by Republican men against Democratic women.

Statistics back this up. According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, objection to online bullying falls along clear gender and party lines. When asked the question: ​“Is online harassment a major problem?” only 45 percent of Republican men polled said yes, while 75 percent of Democratic women said yes. Interestingly, Democratic men and Republican women were just about tied (at 62 and 63 percent, respectively).

So, a case can surely be made that online harassment is as much a GOP ​“trickle down” effect as Ronald Reagan’s failed economic policy was. After all, misogyny is a deep vein mined by the sitting president, whose notorious ​“pussy grabbing” comments and relentless barrage of baseless attacks on powerful women have emboldened the men who fear such women.

Trump’s non-stop parade of sexist comments has given ​“permission” to the media trolls, employers with sexist hiring practices, pathetic jokesters and yes, latent domestic abusers. It’s a Pandora’s Box that is going to be very hard to close, even when Trump is no longer in office, and yes, even here in Connecticut.

In fairness, Connecticut’s Republican House and Senate Leaders, along with Haddam’s Republican First Selectman, have publicly decried this recent sexist behavior by their own party’s members and are to be commended for doing so. But we need more than condemnation. We need it to stop. 

Two years ago, during our runs as candidates for the House of Representatives, we were attacked – as women often are – for our gender, our ambition, our looks. (Read that op-ed here.)

Two years later, after having served in the General Assembly, what’s changed? Not much. This week one of us (Rep. Gilchrest) was attacked online by a meme that was both sexist and racist concerning her position on gun safety and reproductive rights, while the other (Rep. Palm) has been referred to online by some in her district as ​“Chairwoman Mao” for (presumably) being too authoritarian in insisting on the need to wear facemasks in the interest of public safety.

Make no mistake – we aren’t cowed or particularly bothered by this treatment. After all, politics requires thick skin. But we are concerned about the effect of these attacks on all women – from the very young to the elderly – whose lives will be affected by sexual harassment and sexual violence, because the culture of misogyny too often defines our society. Still think that’s overblown?

Here’s a pop quiz: what is the corollary to misogyny? What’s the word for the deep fear or loathing of men? Anyone? Didn’t think so. The answer is misandry. How often do you read that word in the press?

It’s not a uniquely American problem. According to the Women’s Media Center, a 2015 study found that 65 percent of women in parliaments across the world have been subjected to sexist remarks, with 42 percent reporting a wide distribution of ​“extremely humiliating or sexually charged images.” And 44 percent received death, rape, beating and abduction threats.

So pervasive is worldwide online violence against female politicians that in 2012 Bolivia passed a law criminalizing it, and the National Democratic Institute launched the #NotTheCost campaign to arrest it. In a 2017 video by the Women’s Media Center, a group of female politicians (including one Republican) describe their experiences, including death threats, and promote the #NameItChangeIt campaign.

So, amid the latest news of harassment, how do we celebrate this auspicious centennial?

As we continue to denounce public misogyny, let’s take some time to remember our female political forebears who surely endured their own version of bullying. Theirs is a groundbreaking legacy of campaigns that popped onto the male continuum like bright dots: it runs from Victoria Woodhull, whose presidential run in 1872 preceded women’s suffrage by half a century, to the appointment of Kamala Harris for vice president.

It includes Republican Jeannette Rankin, the first woman ever elected to Congress (1916); Democrat Soledad Chacon, elected Secretary of the State in New Mexico, who became the first Latina and first woman of color to hold a statewide elected executive office (1923); Minnie Davenport Craig, who became the first woman to be Speaker of the House in a state legislature (1933); Crystal Dreda Bird Fauset, the first Black woman elected to a state legislature (1938); Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to the United States Congress (1972); and Geraldine Ferraro, the first vice presidential nominee of a major political party (1984).

More recently, Sarah Palin, the first GOP v.p. nominee (2008); and Hillary Clinton, the first female nominee for President of a major U.S. political party (2016). In the era before online bullying, these groundbreakers surely endured barrages of their own – both documented and not.

While sexist attacks often deter women from running for office, they have only strengthened our resolve – and that of the women and men who support our policies – to work even harder on legislation enhancing women’s rights and racial justice.

Explaining her desire to serve in office, Kamala Harris quotes her mother, who often told her: ​“Don’t just sit around and complain about things. Do something.”

So, we’re doing it. We’re calling out sexism and misogyny wherever it occurs. We’re holding fellow elected officials accountable. We’re encouraging women to run for office. We’re sponsoring legislation that combats sexism. What are you doing?

Christine Palm represents the 36th General Assembly District (Chester, Deep River, Essex and Haddam) and Jillian Gilchrest represents the 18th (West Hartford).