Fighting Gender Bias

As the red wave swept the United States elections on November, 2024, girls and women globally commiserated for a female US presidency that was not to be. Like Hillary Clinton in 2016, Kamala Harris too lost to Donald Trump in a highly contested election in 2024. Once the presidential race was called, analysts wondered why the Republicans won to the utter dismay of the Democrats. 

Even as majority of young, minority American women voted for Harris, she still lost to Trump who appealed to most white men, Latino men and even white women. Despite the values that US stands for, the 2024 election painted a contrary picture when it comes to female empowerment. And one such picture is that of a white, privileged man who is a convicted felon on the Oval office. And he had a hand in overturning Roe v. Wade through the Supreme Justice members elected in his 2016-2020 presidency. 

If only men could walk a mile in women’s shoes, their whole perspective of the world would change but that is a wishful thinking that women can only dream about. Truth be told, it is a man’s world wherein women are in a secondary position. Although the majority of the world awards varying degree of freedom to females, there are still constraints. While the female population may partake in many liberties in the age of globalisation, it still remains an imbalanced world. 

For example, in the US, most states have banned abortion following the overturning of Roe v. Wade; consequently, American women have lost the rights to make decisions about their own bodies. Many young American women who voted for Harris thus feel betrayed by Trump’s win. The fact that majority of US citizens chose a man as a leader, in a trying times of war, inflation and woke culture speaks volumes about gender stereotypes. And talking about woke culture that has over the years morphed into a culture war with the Republicans in the US, one has to wonder if the Democrats overplayed the woke culture card a little too enthusiastically. 

The rest of the world looks upon US pop culture with wonder. Hollywood often portrays its women in a strong role in which they play a defiant, formidable and iconic character. As the entire world consumes such media quite profusely, it is not surprising to think of US as an epitome of freedom and privilege for its women when in reality, they too have confines, rules and stereotypes that are hard to break free from. Yet, there are female writers, singers, politicians, artists, educators, activists, and so on who are championing women’s rights in the American lands in a bid for gender equality. There are thus conflicting points of views when it comes to women empowerment in the world’s largest superpower.

At a time when females can more or less take charge of their own rights in the West, the East too is catching up which is why Harris’ loss rings heavily among girls and women who are fighting to break free of gender bias, discrimination and stereotypes in a world where they have to constantly struggle for their rightful place.