Jezebel
Love her or loathe her, people feel the need to discuss presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's life (her accessories, her hair, her lipstick, her husband, her tear ducts) with fervor, dedication, and, often, a great deal of prejudice. In the new anthology Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary, thirty women writers muse on everything from whether Clinton is a cat or a dog person, why she wears the clothes she does, and why she married the man she did. (Oddly, or, perhaps, predictably, they devote zero time to discussing her stance on any issues.) What the critics had to say about the book, after the jump.
Imagine if men wrote a book about Clinton containing this kind of minutiae — the same women would turn and savage them for trivializing her....Isn't the question: is she any good? Or, how will she lead the country? No one in this collection seriously analyzes her position on Iraq, her shift in health-care policy, her record as a senator, her promise of change, the likelihood that she can get elected or whether she has the right credentials. It is jarring—and worrying....The narcissism [of the writers] is overwhelming.— Julia Baird, Newsweek
Many hard-line feminists can't forgive her for staying married to Bill Clinton in the wake of Monica-gate (as though this were anybody's business but the Clintons' own), writing with the sort of vehemence more usually associated with Limbaugh-like members of the "vast right-wing conspiracy." This antipathy toward Mrs. Clinton is very much in evidence in this book. The novelist Lionel Shriver, for one, asserts that "accident, luck, and good or bad taste in men, depending on your perspective" have combined to make Mrs. Clinton "the first truly viable female candidate for the U.S. presidency"; she is reluctant to give Hillary any credit (or blame) for her work as a lawyer and senator. The story of Hillary Clinton, Ms. Shriver declares, "is antifeminist: former first lady is elected on her husband's coattails" — never mind that her own argument — that if Hillary becomes president she will simply be "a titular head of state" with her husband secretly running things from behind the scenes — seems remarkably antifeminist in itself.— Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
In short, a lot of people hate Hillary. There are right-wing nut jobs, antiwar activists, enemies of Bill who think she is his clone, friends of Bill who think she brought him down, fashionistas offended by her sensible suits, and fashionistas offended by the only flash of cleavage she ever revealed on the Senate floor. But perhaps the most agonized Hillary haters are middle-aged, middle-class white feminists whose hatred simmers in a stew of ambivalence, liberally seasoned with desire, frustration, and betrayal. "Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary" could serve as a cookbook for that stew, though its contributors might bristle at the domestic metaphor.— Rebecca Steinitz, Boston Globe
[Hillary] is different from the smart, accomplished writers who make up the provocative, glittering mosaic that is Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary, and she is different from every man who is running or has ever run for President: no one has been dissected the way she's been, no one has been subjected to relentless and catty condemnation of his hair, his wardrobe, his popcorn-eating habits in college, his cooking, his cookie recipes, his invented sexual proclivities, or his marriage — even the faithless Giuliani or McCain, with the trophy wife for whom he ditched his previous wife — the way Hillary has been.— Elizabeth Benedict, Huffington Post
So now there is a book called "Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary: Reflection by Women Writers," in which women who write consider Hillary Clinton's womanliness, as opposed to, say, her voting record on tax cuts. Her womanness is of vital importance, I guess, because a book publisher agreed to pay someone money to edit an anthology in which female writers write about womanitude... But I'm thinking, has a male writer ever had the courage to discuss any of the male candidates in terms of their manliness? I think not... Can a man ever be elected president? Well, yes, every time. But is that really the point?— Jon Carroll, San Francisco Chornicle
This [book] is both an attribute and a detriment [to Hillary's character]. Whether it is a testament to the writers themselves or to Morrison's editing, the contributors share a certain elegance in tone...To state it plainly, the portraits are not flattering. Most essays flow into each other with the common threads of Hillary's pantsuits and her husband's coattails, her health care missteps, her cold demeanor and the fact that most are still surprised she caught a guy like Bill in law school. The 30 ways of looking sometimes feel like only a dozen.— Marisa Rindone, Forbes
Comments
GAAAAAAH, everything I hate about Hillary microanalysis rolled into one obnoxious book. You think they could tack on an appendix explaining whether her ecomonic policy would work or not.
Sounds like a pathetic, petty book that would make me really stabby.
Forget reading the book... let's read some more scathing reviews of the book. They're making me feel better about life in general right now.
Not to point out something really obvious here but, most voters don't care about issues.
yesterday i took one of those "who should you vote for" quizzes and, much to my surprise, hillary seems to be the (viable) candidate most in line with my politics. who knew she was for stopping DEA raids of medi-ganja clinics? of course, i'd love to vote for kucinich or gravel, and i have a huge crush on obama but... i'll admit it, i might actually vote for hillary.
if only i could stop thinking about what a douche she is.
The chapter on Hillary is the one section in Bitch that I never bothered reading. I just....don't care?
Is she a cat person? Does she like ice cream? Does she have Bette Davis Eyes?
What does her economic stimulus package look like? Oh...wait. They left that one out to make room for "Hillary: More a Bangle than a Go-Go".
Voters, REALLY, don't care about the issues if your lipstick is the wrong color.
Fuck these women. We all have a bad pantsuit and a Bill in our closet.
I'm so glad this book is getting slammed. Way to have to answer for the fact that your HUSBAND fucked someone to the American public for the rest of your life.
This is so frustrating. Political commentary has turned into discussing minutiae- what's she wearing? Is Barack black enough? How much cleavage is too much cleavage? Would it be weird having a First Husband? Is Barack nice enough, or TOO nice?- rather than the ISSUES. If the world were ideal, perhaps the candidates would have to wear paper bags over their heads when they debated, so people could decide based on (gasp) those same issues, and only when the paper bags came off would you see WHOM YOU WANTED TO VOTE FOR. But then we'd probably be subjected to " Is his paper bag TOO brown? Is hers too crinkly?" etc etc. It's like the world's biggest popularity contest.
Uh Shriver commenting on coat tails?
And this is exactly why I have a hard time figuring out if I like Hillary or not, I never hear about her policy stances, her plans for the country, or what she is really about. I only hear that she wears pantsuits, she stayed in a marriage in which her husband cheated on her, etc. I have formed a negative opinion of her based solely on the issues that don't matter and I hate that.
I just don't know what to say about Clinton anymore. On the one hand, I'm not particularly fond of her policies (RIP John Edwards' campaign!). On the other, the scrutinizing, sexism and assertions that it's all "thanks to Bill" really have to stop. No one ever criticizes the deeply involved Michelle Obama or Elizabeth Edwards. People call her Hillary where they would say Obama or Edwards for her male counterparts. I am sick of this shit. I think it's a sad comment on the state of political discourse these days, but also a sad comment on the status of women in society in general. Damned if you do, damned if you don't - it's a cliche but it's STILL TRUE. Gah, I need some more coffee.
@hammerimissu: oh my bad I thought Shriver was as in Maria.
[www.theonion.com]
@katastic: It's all the backlash of the 24 hour "news" channels and talk radio. Pointless shit instead of policy.
Haha. Why are women our own worst nightmares? In an age when we have the skills, resources, and crammed-down-our throats history of the previous abuse of our gender, why on earth would a group of women spend any time analyzing these trivial "analyses" of a politician?
I am reading this book about Tesla and he says that after all the time women spent as quiet observers, when we come into power, we'll be the most knowledgeable leaders to ever have led. I guess he forgot to account for credit cards and outfit-shopping to impede our progress as a gender...
Again: Hillary gets it the worst because she's a woman, and women in this society CAN'T EVER WIN. Too shrill! Too nice! Too ugly! Too pretty! Not smart enough! Too smart- conniving! Too much authority-power-hungry! Not enough authority-weak! Lesbian emotionless robot or weepy, wimpy weak-willed woman!Hillary can;t even get credit for her own mistakes/ victories- it's all about how Bill helped/ hurt her! "D'ya think Bill contributed to this speech?". CANNOT. WIN.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHH
@SarahMC: Well played.
The people who criticize her for staying with Bill are the same ones who'd be all over her if she'd divorced him.
I would love it if we didn't refer to her by her first name. Not a criticism; I just think it's really, really odd.
UGH.
Weirdly, it's not considered "sexist" to say any bullshit you want about Hillary.
I'm sick of this election being about anything BUT the issues. I know that's how things work now, but when I hear otherwise smart people (the ones who often sneer at the stupidity of most of the american public)telling me that they support one candidate over another because of how they feel about them, as opposed to solid issues, it makes me sick.
I miss Bill Richardson.
@SarahMC:
ppl should just STFU about their private lives anyway.
I honestly don't get the total antipathy felt toward her by some people. Does she embody some primal evil? I swear, otherwise totally rational people will go out of their way to ridicule and castigate her.
A question for the haters: Do you really feel betrayed by her? Is that it? Because if she was just a bad candidate, or even just not as good as Obama, I don't think the hate would feel as white hotly personal as it does. She obviously touched a nerve; I just can't figure out which one.
STABBY STABBY STABBY.
@TruculentandUnreliable: EXACTLY. It bothers me so much.
@SarahMC: BECAUSE SHE CAN'T WIN WITH PEOPLE!
ARGH ARGAH ARGH ARGH
'scuse me I'm going to jab my eyes out my eyes with a paperclip, Oedipus-like.
I still think women are each others worst enemies. I don't like Hil as a person but I can't help but have begrudging (coattails) or not for her, as a woman-specifically what she has changed and has paved the way through for us...in some respect..
@TruculentandUnreliable: Yeah, but Clinton is already claimed, politically. You'd have to ask "Which one?" everytime.
@entonces: Yeah. I think the prying into Billary's marriage is the thing that bugs me the worst. And they say it's the "feminists" that have always slammed Hill for staying with Bill. But dudes, feminism is about being able to make our own choices, and the choice to stay with Bill is perfectly valid. I think that ambition and careers and all that considered, the Clintons "get" each other, and them splitting doesn't make sense really.
@gyozaho: I did too based on the recommendation of SBJ or BangieB, can't remember which one, who mentioned it in one of the threads and it was a great tool. Votehelp.org is the site. I really like Hillary's voting record and could care less about what lipstick she likes.
@vanishingirl:
by "their" I mean the Clintons. Sorry.
@SarahMC: Well, yes, I don't really see hardline feminists disagreeing with her staying; I've noticed it tends to be women who would vote republican anyway, and would find another reason to dislike her. I don't know if that's necessarily true, but I've noticed that.
Seriously people! Get off the fucking pantsuits! And get ON whether or not she will be able to dig this country out of the fucking ground!!
@TruculentandUnreliable: But so typical...it's always ok to refer to the woman by her first name, right? Although ppl do refer to "Rudy" a lot too.
@hortense: I don't know...I think she could be called "Ms. Clinton" or "Hillary Clinton." We don't call any of the other candidates by their first names. It's just something that bothers me.
@mbprice: Do you really have to ask? It's the "She dares to be gutsy and unapologetically strong and intelligent whilst in possession of a vagina" nerve.
@marybanjo: I've found a few sites that ask you to imput information about your policy opinions, then matches you with the candidate who most embodies your beliefs. A good one is at [minnesota.publicradio.org] Amusingly, after reading up on what they've actually said and did, I've found myself more aligned with Obama.
@vanishingirl: This is true. Maybe it's because "Rudy" is easier to say than Giuliani?
pathetic and depressing.
you know something, i look at the way people of both sexes and all political persuasions criticize hillary, and i think to myself, is it b/c she's NOT a) mrs obama (looking cute/stylish and saying nothing of substance) or b) mrs edwards, (being worthy/mommy and dying of cancer)?
do we really expect our womenfolk to be either decorative or somehow tragic to gain our respect? "victims, hookers and doormats" doesn't just extend to our movie women, perhaps it's EVERY FUCKING WHERE.
@TruculentandUnreliable: That's exactly who it is. Women like my mom, who'd be clutching her pearls if she'd left Bill.
@SarahMC: Thanks, I needed that! It's funny because it's true.
@katastic: You're absolutely right. It seems like this is 100% due to the fact that she's a woman. What boggles my mind, even as a male--maybe especially as a male--is seeing other females tear her down tooth and nail. And these are usually very pro-women women. But something about Hillary Clinton brings out the claws and suddenly it's shredding time. And it's vicious, and often personal. I can't understand it.
@J.D.Regent: hey girl! fell asleep reading and missed the SOTU last night, but apparently, all i missed was nan trying to keep the poker face going.
@TruculentandUnreliable: Or Senator Clinton.