The Week in Patriarchy is a weekly roundup of what’s happening in the world of feminism and sexism. If you’re not already receiving it by email, make sure to subscribe.
This week, I got to see Hillary Clinton speak to a crowd of 600 women when she made an appearance at the women-only social club the Wing. It was strange to watch this brilliant, knowledgeable woman and know that she could have been our president right now. It was painful, actually. And I wasn’t the only one who felt it – women in the room were openly shedding tears as she spoke. Seeing her was a reminder to many, I think, that we’ve made so little progress that the world’s dumbest and most awful man could win the presidency over the world’s most qualified woman.
But somehow getting to listen to her talk in a room with only women also made me hopeful. So often women are told to keep quiet and get over it – even Clinton, who has been harangued by rightwing media and told to disappear even as they talk about her nearly every day. For a few minutes, we got to be sad together without anyone telling us to suck it up. By the time we left, though, we were angry and inspired – a far more dangerous combination for the right.
Glass half full
Sometimes, people make the correct decision.
What I’m RTing
i was told by the new york times man that it was “just a tweet” https://t.co/2q3xPIesio
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) April 5, 2018
“Would [Kevin Williamson’s] ideas hurt?” pic.twitter.com/WkyMk3Hyk2
— Sarah Lerner (@SarahLerner) April 6, 2018
I apologize for taking the idea I should be hanged so personally, when clearly for some reason I was expected not to.
— Nicole Cliffe (@Nicole_Cliffe) April 5, 2018
When people tell you who they are, believe them.
— Lydia Polgreen (@lpolgreen) April 5, 2018
Who I’m reading
Luke O’Brien on the real identity of one of the alt-right’s most infamous online figures; Allie Jones with a fantastic and soothing profile of Busy Phillips; and Bryce Covert on the Alabama teachers strike.
What I’m writing
Things I never thought I would have to write: why “hanging women” isn’t a view fit for the public debate.
How outraged I am
There must be something in the water. The Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Idaho says that abortion rates would go down if we just punished women who get them with the death penalty. On a scale of one to 10, I’m mostly tired.
How I’m making it through this week
Listening to Cecile Richards talk about her book, on one of my favorite podcasts, Call Your Girlfriend.
