Gloria Steinem Debates Racism and Sexism in the '08 Election

Gloria Steinem Debates Racism and Sexism in the '08 Election

By Sally Kohn and Gloria Steinem, AlterNet. Posted January 11, 2008.
http://www.alternet.org/story/73545/

Recently in The New York Times, Gloria Steinem argued that if Barack Obama was a woman, he wouldn't be elected. That's probably true. Ms. Steinem then concludes that "gender is probably the most restricting force in American life." That's definitely false. Or, rather, a false choice. The reality is that racism and sexism are both profound and pervasive throughout our society. Ranking different forms of oppression is a ridiculous waste of time. We should be working to eradicate all forms of oppression, not deciding which one takes precedence.

In other words, just because Senator Obama was (at the time of Ms. Steinem's op-ed) surging above Hillary Clinton doesn't mean that racism has taken a back seat to sexism in the American body politic. Voter preferences may actually have to do with perceived differences on the candidate's positions. Or they may have to do with how each candidate USES their identity: Senator Clinton highlighting her uniqueness as a woman in appealing to women voters, Senator Obama emphasizing how his experiences as an African American give him a more universal insight on unity and solidarity that applies across race. It's not to say one approach is right or wrong but merely different TAKES on their marginalized identities not merely different identities between these two candidates.

Nonetheless, it's probably true that if Barack Obama were bi-racial and a woman, he might not be where he is today. But Ms. Steinem neglected to note that if Hillary Clinton were an African-American woman, she probably wouldn't be either. It goes to show not that one form of oppression is more persistent than the other but that both run deep and strong in our country, as witnessed most powerfully where they intersect.

"All the Women are White, All the Blacks are Men...But Some of Us Are Brave"

It's an oldie and a goody.

who claimed that Obama's rise over Clinton showed that sexism was more pervasive than racism, only to have Clinton win NH a couple days later.

n/t

it IS the most restrictive force simply because nobody really thinks that women as a group, ARE a force.
Everybody is always looking for the next big cause to sink their teeth into. It's sad and pathetic, but the fact remains that in this day and age, women just aren't taken seriously. Period. :(

Another thing why are racism, anti-semitism, homophobia, etc, issues that EVERYBODY (rightly) should care about , but misogyny and sexism the issues only women are supposed to care about?

I remember her saying gay men in drag were sexist.

Each has it's unique problems. In history there haven been far more white women in elected office than black men. Currently we only have one black senator and governor. There have been many more women who have occupied these offices.

n/t

I don't know of any black leader of a majority white country. There could be but I'm not aware. I CAN think of women leaders of similar countries.

She says that if it gets reprinted, she wants it to read that it is "a restricting force" and that we must take think of all restricting forces as linked.

Because many people don’t even consider feminism to be important anymore, it is considered to be a dirty word or something “politically correct”.

BRAVO! We're electing a President, not a "black man" a "white man" or a "woman." Let's get back to the #@$ issues.