The First Woman President Could Mean Nothing (or Everything) For Women and Girls of Color

What could the election of Hillary Clinton mean for women and girls beyond its historical significance and symbolism?

Hillary Clinton and South African Girl
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Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images

Hillary Clinton and South African Girl

Ahead in the polls, Hillary Clinton is poised to make herstory on November 8. It's a fact that has gone without much comment given the spectacle that is Donald Trump’s campaign but one worth considering. Indeed, with a woman potentially headed to the Oval Office, it is important to stop and ask what this particular moment means for women and girls beyond the historical significance and symbolism.

Without question, the symbolic power of a woman holding the most powerful office in the world cannot be overstated. This moment calls upon us to remember and honor all of the women, particularly the numerous women of color who have run for president. For over a century, women such as Victoria Woodhull, Shirley Chisholm, Cynthia McKinney, Margaret Chase Smith, and Patsy Mink challenged the status quo of white men running the country. Clinton stands on the shoulders of these trailblazers in electoral politics. Many women and girls will see the election of Clinton as a promise of what's possible for women in this country. When considering the prospect, it’s hard not to think of that iconic image of a young black boy touching President Obama’s hair to see if it felt like his. If Clinton is elected a similar moment might be created with a young girl seeing herself in the role of president.

While there are plenty of arguments why Clinton will be a president who focuses on women and girls, there are also compelling arguments for why she might be unremarkable or more of the status quo, starting with her proven blind spot for the challenges faced by women and girls of color.

Clinton’s election might also have tangible benefits for women and girls---after all, one primary appeal for the election of women to public offices is a more representative democracy. More than half of the people in the United States identify as women and girls- it’s about time our elected officials at local, state, and national levels reflect this reality. Although all women politicians do not hold the same political views or champion what most would identify as women’s issues (e.g. equal pay, affordable childcare, or reproductive freedom), Clinton’s record and her current campaign platform suggest that she could put a focus on issues that have profound implications for women and girls. Reproductive freedom, equal pay, accessible and affordable child care, ending violence against women and girls, and family friendly workplaces are all issues  Clinton has worked on or advocated for to varying extents in her more than 30 years in politics and public service.

Whether or not Clinton will be able to turn her promises into policy is an entirely different story, however. While there are plenty of arguments why Clinton will be a president who focuses on women and girls, there are also compelling arguments for why she might be unremarkable or more of the status quo, starting with her proven blind spot for the challenges faced by women and girls of color.

Unemployment, college affordability, equal pay, child care, educational achievement, health care, reproductive choices, and gender-based violence look different when women and girls of color are at the center of policy-making. On nearly all of the issues, women and girls of color are more severely impacted by inequalities, disparities, biases, and stereotypes. It is important for us to ask: how will the lives of women who experience some combination of sexism, racism, poverty, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia or ableism in their daily lives fare under a Clinton presidency? Can those on the margins reasonably expect Clinton to be an advocate for them as she sits at the helm of U.S. empire?

Her feminism falls within a history of white, elite women who often have a very narrow vision of progress that does not account for women and girls of color.

To date, we have not heard any of the candidates running for president mention the numerous trans* women of color killed in the U.S. in 2016 or the disparate impact ICE raids have on women and girls of color. Black women’s unemployment rate has remained stagnant for years. Latina women are most significantly impacted by the wage gap. If we consider our country’s engagement with nations like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, or Palestine, Clinton’s hawkish record with regards to engaging other nations, we are left with troubling and perpetually violent outcomes for women and girls of color living in those countries.

Both here and abroad, there is a reason for women and girls of color to lack enthusiasm about a potential Clinton presidency. Clinton’s silencing of a black woman Black Lives Matter protester, her emphasis on addressing “implicit bias” and not “anti-black racism,” her candid support of deportations in numerous cases, and her complicity and involvement in wars in the Middle East that directly impact women and girls of color in that region contribute to an alarming record on race.

Criticisms about how Clinton engages or does not engage communities of color, particularly women and girls of color arise out of her inability—thus far—to center black and brown women in how she talks about improving the lives of women. Her feminism falls within a history of white, elite women who often have a very narrow vision of progress that does not account for women and girls of color. 

Clinton talks about criminal justice reform, but only uses young black and occasionally Latino men to discuss the problem of private prisons and mass incarceration. Additionally, her insistence on equating violence against police with violence caused by police firmly places her in the “All Lives Matter” camp, even if she finally did proclaim that black lives matter. Despite her support from many of the “Mothers of the Movement,” her relative silence on the specific kinds of violence women and girls of color experience at the hands of police is deafening. There has been no indication from her campaign thus far that she understands the unique impact of policing or mass incarceration on women and girls of color. It is no surprise that she has not connected more with non-white women voters, despite her outreach efforts to black, Latinx, and Native-American women.

Girl at Hillary Rally

Without question, Clinton is one of the most over-qualified people to ever be a serious contender in the race to run U.S. empire. Frankly, her experience at this level of governance is unmatched. The fact that Trump, an inexperienced, unprepared, bigoted, and inflammatory candidate remains a serious challenger in the presidential race is a stark reminder of just how powerful white male rage and rampant sexism and misogyny are. But, it is also worth noting that Clinton’s brand of white liberal feminism often fails to address the needs of women of color.

Clinton is outspoken about reproductive freedom, but what about reproductive justice, which tends to be where many women of color enter the conversation? As president, it is likely she will push for paid parental leave, but she has not indicated that she will address high infant mortality rates among black women. Clinton will push for immigration reform, and yet, it is also likely that she may continue deporting undocumented people at a similar rate as President Obama. Clinton’s ties to Wall Street do not bode well for introducing and pushing for policies that positively impact poor and underserved communities. The repetitive refrain of helping “middle class” families is a good sound byte, however, it contributes to the mainstream invisibility of poverty. For the millions of people living below or at the poverty line, many of whom are women and girls of color, Clinton represents more of the changing same of U.S. electoral politics.  

With up to three Supreme Court Justice seats coming available and the harsh reality that Trump could eek out a win, there is a lot at stake on Election Day. Once the dust settles on this political circus, women and girls of color will remain on the margins and fighting for policies that account for their lives. This work has never stopped under any president and won’t under a Trump or Clinton administration. Under Clinton, however, one could perhaps be more cautiously optimistic.

Women of color make history everyday surviving at the intersection of racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of injustice. They will fervently and uniquely challenge the likely next president, Hillary Clinton, to move to the left and to finally and more fully take stock of what women of color have to say.

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