Feminism Between a Rock and Hard Place

Thanks to Hillary Clinton's candidacy for president, gender has rarely been in the media more than it is now (see the New York Times article on gender in society ). The relationship between feminists and Clinton in this primary has been complicated at best. Many prominent feminists such as Gloria Steinem have come out (often controversially) in support of Senator Clinton, while Barack Obama has continued to have more youth support, including that of many younger feminists. Part of it is a generational difference: many second-wave feminists are thrilled with Clinton's historic candidacy, while Obama has enjoyed success with many young voters of both genders. Yet at the core of this, we see a conflict between two American values: equality and individuality.

Americans' love of equality works in both of these candidates' favors. For feminists, the idea of a woman breaking the strongest glass ceiling in the nation is too tempting to resist. Not only that, but Clinton has real feminist credibility, including her career as a child advocate in law and her speech at the United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing. Electing Clinton for president could potentially accomplish progress in ways second-wavers have only dreamed of.

But conflicting with this desire for equality is a strong pull for individuality. Many feminists, especially younger feminists from the third wave, resent feeling obligated to vote for Clinton because she's a woman. If anything, it is almost the more feminist thing to vote for Obama because women's equality means voting for whomever you think is the best candidate. These sentiments have prevented Clinton from making a lot of headway with young women voters that was expected.