I have spent 42 years pushing against a patriarchy that tries to tell me what to look like, what to feel, who to demur to, and that there are many things that I can’t do because I’m female. The weaker sex? I gave birth. I wouldn’t be balled up on the ground if kicked in the groin. It’s tiring and it takes a toll. And I’ll keep pushing in my own steady way. For Thomas Frank (Trump has taken the White House – and he has the liberals to thank, 10 November) to leave sexism out of his response piece wholesale (not one mention) and to choose to use the word “shrill” toward the end of his article, a word which conjures up images of women (when has a man ever been called shrill?), leaves me frustrated and tired. Frank, whom I’m sure is a wonderful person in many respects, is as sexist as the next and hasn’t faced his own inner demons.
Whether or not you think Hillary Clinton had the best interest of the lower class and working middle class in mind, for Frank to say that she isn’t really competent, that her email server was a real issue and that Biden would have been a better choice is just a cloak for his inability to face himself in the mirror.
To his credit, or to the detriment of at least of half of us, Frank is not alone in his unacknowledged sexism. Even when we pit a woman against the least competent candidate we could imagine, for arguably the most important job there is, our society as a whole can’t stomach voting for her. Voters literally stayed home from the polls rather than elect a woman. Let’s throw this Frank article in the virtual trash where it belongs, and instead read response articles penned by feminists (of all genders). We have work to do.
India Viola
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
• Amid the negativity and strong words about the result of the presidential election, it is important that we stay positive and true to our morals and standards, unlike Donald Trump. As a young woman, feminist and member of the younger generation, I can certainly say that I will not tolerate Trump’s revolting words against women and those who don’t fit his mould of a perfect citizen. From this, I am reminded of the standards of how men should behave towards women: with respect and compassion.
The doom-and-gloom events of this year have taught and emphasised to me the importance of staying positive and not letting morals and standards slip because of the behaviour of a leader such as Trump. Furthermore, Hillary Clinton has shown, particularly to women and girls, that anything is possible if you truly believe, and that women can be and are champions for this. As she said in her speech, “there is still much work to be done” and the only way we will aid the work ahead is if we stand together with positive energy and hope against people like Trump’s fear and discrimination.
Eleanor Sutcliffe
Cambridge
• In an otherwise searching article (Report, 12 November) Sarah Churchwell falls prey to the same negativism in attitudes toward women politicians that she’s writing about. While it is true that “a staggering 53% of white women voted against Clinton,” it is not true that “once again, a female candidate did not carry even the female vote”. Some 54% of women voted for Clinton – not all white, but all women.
Marcia Saunders
London
• Is it possible that we (who are appalled by his election) have underestimated Donald Trump? Is it possible that the rage, racism, boasts, unpleasant vilification of Hillary Clinton and ludicrous promises were his carefully calculated pose to woo those voters he recognised as disillusioned with the Washington establishment and longing for change? That the wall was never going to be built; that the secretary of state was never going to be sent to jail; that the clampdown on Muslim communities could be quietly overlooked; that Nato would survive and trade treaties would remain untorn.
He is where he wants to be. He will have real power. He will use it to get what he really wants. He is a wheeler-dealer, a negotiator. He knows how to choose and use talented people who can deliver his goals. Let us by all means be fearful of what those goals might be, but let us also look beyond the smokescreen of his performance in the campaign. Listen to the change of tone of his carefully emollient victory speech. Remember how he outmanoeuvred the other contenders and shrugged off the disdain of the Republican hierarchy. Let us hope that American liberals will not write him off as a fool who cannot possibly survive.
Chris Harris
Lymington, Hampshire
• It is interesting to reflect that while all recent US presidents (even George W Bush) have made very public professions of attachment to the Christian faith, Donald Trump does not appear to share this. None of his frequent utterances over the last year have alluded to faith, and his actions and words during the election campaign were hardly those of a Christian adherent, quite the opposite. So we may reasonably assume that the Tea Party religious right, a key influence in his election, is now headed up by an amoral infidel. That would be one of the weirder outcomes of 8 November.
Robin Wendt
Chester
• How come liberals encourage violence while exercising their freedom of speech (Report, 12 November)? This is something I’ll never understand. You always speak of love and understanding when making conservatives knuckle under to your beliefs, yet when you don’t get your way after a fair election you unhinge like a crazed three-year old. Filth, property damage, foul language and disrespect for the individual and country. This is a liberal who loses. Your hypocrisy is staggering.
Kimberly Brockway
Random Lake, Wisconsin, USA
• The protesters in American cities all appear to be in the twenties. This is the generation, particularly if they are college-educated, who have been brought up on the shibboleths of political correctness, safe spaces and cultural appropriation, while being protected from viewpoints and literature running counter to their sensibilities. All of these are bound to trump democracy. They must be shell-shocked.
Edward Thomas
Eastbourne
• At a time of great uncertainty and anxiety following the election of Donald Trump, we should seek inspiration from the recent past. The “You say you want a revolution?” exhibition currently at the V&A museum charts the exhilarating optimism of the late 1960s, when millions of people tried to create a better world through music, fashion and positive social change and everything seemed possible. We must work to restore that spirit of hope.
Stan Labovitch
Windsor
• To all those who claimed (re Jeremy Corbyn) that attracting large, enthusiastic crowds was meaningless because it wouldn’t translate into votes… guess what?
Bruce Paley
Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire
• Will there now be a rush of American babies named Donald or, even worse, Donalda as a result of Donald Trump’s victory?
Margaret Garland
Saffron Walden, Essex
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