Vox recently interviewed former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, a Democrat, who has also served as a councilor with Fort Worth, about the 2016 election, and what it reveals about "how America thinks about women as political leaders." Ms. Davis' first words were, "We have a lot of work to do."
Hannah Cranston, with The Young Turks, summarized the Texas senator's view as one where women need to stop "being nice" if they wish to take part in a "meaningful conversation about gender inequality," and to "advance the movement of the Women's March." Davis has described the Women's March following the January 20 inauguration for President Donald Trump as being the result of "pent-up 'good-girl' behavior." The senator described some women who navigate "more subtly through the challenges we face," and the notion of it somehow serving "our ultimate goal," and held the women's march up as a "cold splash of water" in the faces of American women.
Hannah Cranston: Women's March a 'wake-up call'
Davis continued that the movement was not "being ugly now," and that it was "being much more assertive," unafraid to confront those who believe that the gender equality conversation isn't a one worthy of taking place. Citing the march following Trump's inauguration and the Day Without Women protests, Ms. Cranston cited a "change of direction of the narrative" surrounding women's issues. She called the day a "wake-up call" and agreed with Davis that women need to stop "being nice."
Francis Maxwell, with TYT, expressed disagreement with Davis over her contention that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "lost the election, because she was a women." Mr.
Maxwell cited Davis' description of the environment surrounding Clinton's loss as a "misogynistic climate." Cranston stated that, as a woman, anytime she appears in the media and espouses an opinion on gender equality, she quickly becomes labelled. She held that for a "long time" she refrained from taking "aggressive" positions on gender equality issues, citing fears of "backlash."
'Misogynistic climate'
Cranston explained that issues facing women today are not new, including health care, pay equity, the number of women on corporate boards, and the number of women in politics, but that they are being considered in a new light under a president who has claimed to "sexually assault women." She stated that women need to be "more vocal" and "more aggressive" with their messaging as a result.
Brett Erlich summed up part of Davis' view, with regard to a climate of misogyny that exists, seemingly reinforced by the rhetoric of Donald Trump, and her questioning, "What do we do now?" The TYT host described a choice faced by women, whether to play offense or defense, and noted that leaning too far to either side has consequences. Erlich surmised that Davis is suggesting that women "go on the offensive," which he described as "great." He called the Vox-Davis interview an "effective" one.
