Super Tuesday is my Super Bowl

I briefly tuned into the Superbowl. Frankly, I couldn't care less. But I hung on every word about the elections last night! What a something.

Admittedly, I am a split woman when it comes to backing a Democratic candidate. I back Hillary with my head, but Obama with my heart. I have to say that I was DISENFRANCHISED by New York State . . . I registered to vote when I got my driver's license in SEPTEMBER, but they never registered me. I decided to vote by affadavit yesterday and am assuming that my vote won't be counted. Fear not, I've sent in my voter registration directly to the Board of Elections . . . I BETTER be able to vote in the general election.

But let's talk about my mind/heart problem. I am feminist (ok, yes, the name of the blog makes that abundantly clear). I think Hillary Clinton's running is important not because she acts on her feminist impulses (she doesn't as far as I'm concerned), but because it shows the U.S. hypocrisy about sexism. We act like we've done our work here. We haven't. And it pisses me off that we always have to point to Afghanistan and women wearing burquas to point to the "liberation" of American women. What self-righteousness crap! I think it disheartening that it's hard to find a pair of jeans that don't make it over most women's butts! What does it mean that "beautiful" women are a size 0? We are supposed to take up SO LITTLE space that we should physically almost disappear as well? How frightening! What does it mean that over half the people attending law school are women but most of them do not end up in law firms? What does it mean that most of the people in poverty are women? What does it mean that quality childcare is completely unaffordable - do we really think that women belong in the workplace or is this one way to send us out? Given these problems, it seems that most of our feelings about Hillary are the way that we feel about women overall and suggest the extent to which it is difficult to really back a woman. The question is what do we believe about what sexism tells us about women that makes it hard to back her.

Let me jump on this question . . . I think she's duplicitous, particularly as it concerns Black women! Yes, she started her career with the Children's Defense Fund. Yes, she's written articles concerning women and children. However, there were some gaffes during the Clinton administration on which she remained as silent as everyone else. Let me spell them out:

Zoe Baird: She was the Attorney General nominee who didn't pay social security taxes for her nanny. I don't back this . . . nanny's do really hard work and deserve every dime they work for. However, I do think this points to one critical challenge for women - finding affordable childcare. I know that she earns more than many women, but childcare options are so expensive that even she had to shirk some of this duty. So Hillary, defender of children, could you not speak out against your husband when others trashed her as a candidate because there are few affordable childcare options? How could you have redirected this discussion? Again, do we really want women in the workplace? What would be required for us to do this with peace of mind? Never mind that Black women have been taking care of White women's children since the 16th century in this hemisphere (let's not forget slavery and its aftermath) and they haven't been paid well or offered decent childcare options. And some in the Republican Party want to get rid of Head Start . . . one of the only effective and reliable childcare options for many women. Where was Hillary's voice here? This silence points to Clinton treachery against women in general and women of color in particular.

Lani Guinier: the next nominee for the Attorney General position. She was a Black woman who published articles about Black people and political representation and its relationship to voting. The Republicans called her quota queen. However, if you read her work, she argues that White people can effectively represent Black people in Congressional districts and did not advocate any quotas for voting representation. Did Hillary have anything to say about this? 'Nuff said.

Jocelyn Elders: our Surgeon General who, wisely in my opinion, recommended that we should consider teaching about masturbation as a form of safe sex. Let's think about this. Many are averse to this activity; however, no one else is involved, no pregnancies, no STDs. The Republicans had a fit and Clinton tossed her overboard. Did we hear a single word from Hillary Clinton? Do we see racist remarks about rampant Black female wild sexuality attached to Elders' concerns about STDs and teenage pregnancy so that her point was completely lost? Hillary had nothing to say.

Welfare deform: poor Black cadillac driving welfare queens need to work if they think they're going to get any more "handouts" from the state, right? Because ALL women on welfare really are just trying to get over. The racist tinge of all of this goes way back . . . Black women have been categorized as brood mares - animals that can't stop breeding and have irresponsible sex. Remember, we have wild sex drives and can't control ourselves. That's why our children are in such terrible shape and maybe we can do something for ourselves if we just got into the workplace. There are jobs out there, we just refuse to work. If I recall correctly, raising children IS work. And damned hard work, especially if people systematically discriminate against you for work, the work you can get doesn't pay well and as a result, you can't get childcare and you don't get health insurance either. Hillary, did you have anything to say about this? What a betrayal against Black women.

So, I cast my affidavit ballot for Hillary, but my gut is upset because she has not taken some important public stands on behalf of women. These are the reasons she strikes me as duplicitous. Perhaps she would not be this far if she had a record on these events. But given the condition of women in the U.S., remember, sexism isn't dead, we can't afford this. Would Barack do better? I don't know, but he doesn't parade himself around as an advocate of women and children.