A great majority of women across the country are heartbroken and feeling a great deal of despair.
The ultimate glass ceiling remains painfully shatterproof, for now. Hillary Clinton was a uniquely qualified female presidential candidate, with her years advocating for children and families, her time as a New York senator, and her experience in the prestigious role of secretary of state.
Her past was not necessarily unvarnished and not without controversy, with her husband’s very public transgressions and accusations, the Benghazi events, and the email/private server investigation.
Yet, with all the harsh scrutiny and burdensome trials that she has been put through, Clinton was not found guilty of any legal wrongdoing.
She showed strength, fortitude, and perseverance throughout the years. Her temperament almost never failed and she kept her eye on the goal of public service and the further progression of democratic values.
Nevertheless, President-elect Donald Trump, with no political experience and substantial flaws in temperament and character, won the electoral college votes necessary for victory.
Yet, the fact remains that Hillary Clinton did indeed win the popular vote. The majority of the people in the United State voted for Clinton.
As of now, Clinton’s popular vote margin actually exceeds the popular vote margin that Gore had over Bush in 2000.
The masses spoke through popular vote. The ultimate glass ceiling was so close to being broken.
Still, it was not.
Further adding to this disappointment, Hillary lost the election to a man who so frequently denigrated women, assigning women numerical values based on various physical characteristics.
He called women different derogatory names, commenting on weight, facial characteristics, and other body attributes. He boasted about sexual assault and then casually characterized it as locker room banter.
Through many hard fought battles and struggles, the women’s rights and feminist movements audaciously liberated women and allowed them to be proud of their femininity, sexuality, strength and intellectual abilities.
Social convention no longer confined women to the constraints of traditional roles.
Women have shattered glass ceilings and have gained respect and equal opportunity, while being much more free of the impediments of harassment and sexism. Besides the increasing equality in professional life, women have gained the right to have control over their own bodies and health.
Yet, the struggle is ongoing.
How will a president who so frequently denigrates females, affect years of hard work and progress for women’s rights and equality?
Clinton’s loss and Trump’s win has frightened and shook many women to their core.
For every woman working on intellectual pursuits that has not been taken as serious as a man based on her femininity, or a woman that has been denigrated based on either attractiveness or perceived lack of attractiveness, or a woman that has ever been sexually assaulted, we all feel deeply despaired by the electoral result. Many of us are grieving the loss of hope for a candidate that would continue to advocate genuine equality.
The possible silver lining of this traumatic loss, is that many more women are finding their voices.
Often when we are pushed to the brink of despair or frightened to our core, we become louder and stronger.
We find our voices and listen to our own authentic beliefs and values. We learn more about ourselves and what we believe despite the influences of social convention.
We become courageous and realize that we must be true to our own voice, regardless of what our friends and neighbors think.
Throughout this election cycle, it seems that, at least anecdotally, more and more women have found their voices.
Women who may not have previously spoken out about political issues and policy concerns have begun to articulate their own values. Women and men, both, have become emotional this election cycle, and as a reaction to the electoral results.
Anger, fear, anxiety, sadness, despair, etc., have inundated social media, workplace chatter, and our own private residences at the dinner table and in the dark of the night. Nonetheless, emotion can be a catalyst for action.
None of the greatest moments in our nation’s progress, including the civil rights movement, was realized without the presence of deep emotion.
The voices that many have found, throughout this election cycle, in combination with sincere emotion, is an effective scenario for increased civic engagement and civic community. We may feel despair and sadness but should not silence our voices.
Muting our own personal beliefs in the face of an electoral loss is a defeatist attitude. We must decide what women’s equality means to each of us and further develop the voice that we’ve found.
This takes bravery and fortitude in the face of our fellow men or women who may not see women the way see ourselves.
Our common beliefs and voices can become even more powerful together.
In the spirit of the famous Harvard scholar David Putnam, a great many of us are currently “bowling alone.”
While many advocates of social and political justice are already civically engaged in various organizations, many of us are not. This leaves our voices to be heard, perhaps, only to our family, close friends, coworkers, or in the context of social media, if we’re not afraid of losing the good graces of people of different mindsets. This is a start.
All of the above categories are part of social capital. Yet, more organized civic engagement within our communities can galvanize political dialogue and action.
This is the real facilitator of democratic progress and a vehicle of change. If love inspires individuals in their personal lives, it is civic community that inspires democratic viability.
Civic community is democracy’s Eros.
Social media and Internet-based forms of civic community and social capital is invaluable. Surely, there is much potential for technology to facilitate civic engagement.
With busy lives and obligations, this type of engagement can make civic community much more available and convenient.
Further, as we find and develop our voices, we need to be seen, heard, and engage in face-to-face dialogue and connection. When we find our voices and then become civically engaged with others, offering our thoughts and ideas, we can truly do great things together. We can fight injustice and work towards the common good. We can protect our environment, overcome racial, cultural and religious divides, provide access to quality public education and affordable higher education, improve access to health care, create a fair taxation system, help the poor and middle classes, ensure LGBTQ rights, protect women’s equality, etc.
In the words of Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison on the day following the election: “Don’t mourn. Organize.”
The feelings of despair, frustration, and fear will not quickly dissipate, nor should they. These emotions are justified, and can be channeled to help us strengthen our voice and more passionately articulate our values.
We can take refuge in the fact that we had a first female presidential candidate that won the popular vote. It was not just a testament to the potential for a female to reach the Oval Office, but a message that lo
ve really does trump hate. Strong women across the nation have the capability to remain powerful voices of feminism and justice and to help our fellow citizens strengthen their own voices.
We will not cower in the face of blatant sexism or tawdry insults. We will not hide our intelligence or political passion and liberalism as a result of the electoral outcome.
The fight against injustice starts with winning our own individual battle; this entails nurturing our personal beliefs rather than passively conforming to the judgment of the day.
As Maya Angelou had stated, “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.”
Diana Poulos-Lutz
Mineola
