US Election: Shaking Off Gender Stereotypes

As the whole world awaits with bated breath for the presidential election to be held this November in the United States of America, two major political parties, Republicans and Democrats, are leaving no stones unturned to secure the coveted title of ‘President’ in the most powerful economy in the world. This election is touted to be the most epic clash between the former president, Donald Trump and the first woman Vice President, Kamala Harris. Republican president nominee Donald Trump is mostly in the news for the wrong reasons. He is the first president in America who has been found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsified business records. He has also been accused of sexual misconduct by many women over the years. Trump’s narcissism and disregard for the public's mandate was there for the world to witness when he sent a violent armed mob to attack in the Capitol due to his inability to process his 2020 re-election defeat. 

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, in stark contrast to her opponent, is a strong, compassionate public servant whose main purpose is to make her country a better place. She is the first woman, first Black person and first Asian American who ascended the throne of vice presidency in 2020. She was also the first black person elected to serve as attorney general in California, America’s most populous state. If two candidates' profiles are anything to go by, it is obvious that the fight this November is not just a battle between two different ideologies, it’s an epic battle between unity versus division. Trump thrives on division and he often implies toxic masculinity as strength and femininity as weakness. Harris, conversely, seeks to unite people and has pledged to be a president for all Americans. “Be a man to vote for a woman”, one of the profound calls made by Harris during her election campaign, has reverberated across the world.

Policies

In terms of policies, restoration of abortion rights and making the middle class stronger are at the centre of Harris’s election campaign. Her policy focuses on tax cuts for the middle class, whereas tax hikes on the wealthy. She also plans to reduce food and housing costs for working families. Her opponent, Trump, seems to have the reverse strategy of being more lenient towards the upper class by reducing tax cuts on them. Trump’s plan of imposing 10- 20 per cent tariffs on most foreign goods has been criticized heavily by Harris citing that the middle class will have to pay higher amounts for essential household goods. If re-elected, Trump aims to expand fossil fuels thereby repealing Joe Biden and Harris administration’s clean energy initiatives.

Going by their respective policies and history, Kamala Harris should have been a unanimous choice. However, early polls suggesting this election to be a tight race raises a mammoth of questions. This world is still a man’s world where women have to walk through the fire to prove her mettle. The society which preaches gender equality is willing to pardon Trump for innumerable crimes he had committed, but is more sceptical of a Black woman who has a history of prosecuting transnational criminal organisations. If too tough, she is seen as cold. If highly communal, she is observed weak. If she laughs, she is weird. Why is it that this old age practice of labelling women’s emotions as hysterical is still prevalent in this modern world? Condemning women’s emotional expression is still the most popular choice for those who want to cut down women in political power. This hypocritical society proudly preaches freedom of choice but criticizes Harris arguing that she is unfit to be president because she does not have biological children. This same society seems to have royally ignored that several former US male presidents including George Washington did not have biological children and strangely, they were never denounced for this. This highly biased world which holds around 50 per cent of the female population is still not comfortable to be led by women.

Challenges

For Harris, insurmountable challenges lie ahead. Navigating through biases of sexism and racism among voters is an uphill struggle for her.  She has to fight with people’s long held stereotype of being uncomfortable with a Black woman being the President of the most powerful democracy in the world. However, she is a lady as tough as nails. She has a history of defying all the odds and emerging victorious in the face of adversity. She has harnessed this unique ability to convey both strength and sympathy that too in the most authentic ways. She has also learned to navigate double standards widely prevalent in our society and her playbook is set to be a powerful precedent for the years to come.

Stakes are high with this election expected to be a razor-thin contest. It is obvious that Trump’s win will propel people and the country backwards, towards the same relentless cycle of hatred, divisiveness and toxic masculinity. Conversely, Harris' victory will propel people to expand the circle of love, unity and compassion where people of different colour, different religion, and different backgrounds will make spaces for each other as brothers and sisters. Her victory will send a powerful message across the world as it will proudly dismantle toxic masculinity. It’s up to citizens in America to shake off gender stereotypes and not to let toxic masculinity reign supreme this election. 

(Shrestha is an English language trainer and gold medalist from 'Marketing Institute of Singapore', in Singapore.)