The feud between Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders — and their supporters — over whether or not Sanders actually questioned if the US would elect a girl president is now in its fourth day.
Earlier than the talk, the Sanders marketing campaign encouraged supporters to go destructive on Warren, partly out of worry that she will be able to’t win over “disaffected working-class voters.” Later, CNN reported that Sanders advised Warren privately in 2018 {that a} lady possible couldn’t defeat President Donald Trump in 2020, one thing Sanders has denied.
Throughout Tuesday’s debate, Sanders was requested by a moderator why he stated he “didn’t imagine {that a} lady might win the election.” “How might anyone in 1,000,000 years not imagine {that a} lady might turn out to be president of america?” he responded.
In the meantime, Warren affirmed her unique account of the dialog with Sanders, and after the talk there was an awkward encounter between the 2. “I believe you referred to as me a liar on nationwide TV,” she advised Sanders.
Let’s put aside for the second whether or not Sanders stated what Warren says he stated. The dispute between them touches on an essential query that doesn’t admit any straightforward solutions.
Is it true that it might be tough for a girl to win a presidential election, particularly in opposition to a misogynist like Trump? If that’s the case, what is exclusive a few presidential race that makes it completely different from congressional elections — the place ladies candidates triumphed in 2018?
To get some solutions, I reached out to Cornell College thinker Kate Manne, writer of Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny. In a Twitter thread, Manne advised that Sanders ought to have owned the implications of his remarks and admitted what everyone knows is probably going true: sexism can be weaponized in opposition to a feminine candidate.
We mentioned what she meant by that, and arguably an much more urgent query: How can we acknowledge this actuality in a manner that doesn’t reinforce it or flip it right into a self-fulfilling prophecy?
A flippantly edited transcript of our dialog follows.
Sean Illing
Let’s assume Sanders advised Warren {that a} lady can’t defeat Trump in 2020. Is he proper?
Kate Manne
I believe he’s improper, however it’s not an unreasonable declare. And I ought to say that even when he stated one thing a lot weaker than that, he has admitted to saying that Trump would weaponize sexism and misogyny in opposition to Warren, which is an odd factor to convey up except you’re claiming {that a} lady wouldn’t have a sensible shot on the presidency.
However leaving that apart, I believe he’s improper for refined causes. It’s true that girls are up in opposition to it in political races and we have now anecdotal proof from the final election the place we had a far stronger feminine candidate overwhelmed out by a very weak, incompetent, and immoral male candidate. And there’s only a wealth of empirical evidence from social psychology that when a person and a girl go face to face for a masculine-coded management place, there tends to be a market bias in favor of the male candidate and in opposition to the feminine candidate.
I say Sanders is improper as a result of there’s additionally proof that extremely communal ladies can overcome that bias.
Sean Illing
What do you imply by that?
Kate Manne
Effectively, there are some glorious research by Madeline Heilman of NYU and her colleagues investigating whether or not the market bias I’m speaking about may be mitigated if a girl is proven to be tremendous compassionate, or extra precisely perceived as tremendous compassionate, caring, empathetic, nurturing, and type. When that occurs, the bias in opposition to ladies appears to vanish, or not less than it’s lowered considerably. So if Sanders is improper, I believe it’s as a result of somebody like Warren really has a reasonably good shot as a result of she’s perceived as hyper-communal.
Sean Illing
What’s it about Trump, particularly, that makes the gender bias such a urgent problem?
Kate Manne
It looks as if he’s the type of candidate that might convey out lots of people who need to vote for a robust man, or a perceived robust man, over a feminine candidate. He’s going to be a lightning rod for the sexist and misogynistic voter, whether or not they’re pushed by implicit biases or express beliefs {that a} lady can’t be sufficiently competent to be president. You’d should be very optimistic about gender egalitarian progress to not suppose that he’s somebody who would allow and empower the sexist and misogynistic voters.
Sean Illing
In different phrases, as a result of he’s a misogynist, Trump places misogyny on the desk and subsequently prompts misogynist voters.
Kate Manne
Sure, that’s a extremely great way of placing it.
Sean Illing
Are the dynamics for ladies candidates completely different in a presidential race? What makes the presidency completely different from congressional or gubernatorial races?
Kate Manne
I believe we must be extra attentive to the empirical proof on this. There are some very nice research displaying that in relation to races even for the Senate, women and men who’re equally described, there’s not essentially a robust bias in opposition to ladies.
But there’s a study by which researchers manipulated the important thing variable and located that this modified as quickly as you described a girl as power-seeking. So in one of many manipulations, they described the lady as “some of the bold politicians in a state” who at all times “had a robust will to energy” and has at all times been “hungry.” Now these are all keys to success in politics. And when males had been described in these phrases, they weren’t penalized. However when ladies had been described this manner, it turned a difficulty.
So perceived power-seeking is an issue for ladies, and the presidency might be essentially the most highly effective place on the planet, so it’s not stunning that this might be downside.
Sean Illing
I’m curious if you happen to suppose partisanship alters the logic of this in any manner. If, for example, an especially hawkish conservative lady was working in opposition to Trump, does that play out any in a different way? Or does gender bias trump social gathering politics?
Kate Manne
That’s an important query. So that is considerably speculative, however my hunch is that there’s a type of mediating issue right here that’s associated to the perceived communality. So if a girl is perceived on the left as a hawk, she’ll be perceived as not communal and that’s going to essentially price her. I believe that’s very true for center-left ladies. Individuals who would in any other case vote for them are in all probability extra suspicious of them than they’d be of a male counterpart as a result of they’re perceived as not empathetic and compassionate sufficient.
However, if you happen to’re a right-wing lady, the way in which to be perceived as communal is to be extra conservative, extra emphatic on so-called household values, extra inclined to defend the established order in relation to American pursuits overseas. So I believe what you would possibly discover, and once more, this would wish empirical verification, is that perceptions of communality require completely different habits relying on whether or not you’re on the left or proper.
Sean Illing
There’s a pressure right here that I discover tough to navigate. How can we acknowledge the fact that sexism exists and that girls face an infinite electoral drawback, not less than in some circumstances, whereas on the similar time preventing in opposition to it successfully?
Kate Manne
That’s the massive query. I wrestle with it, too. I believe a whole lot of it has to do with the spirit by which these questions are raised. One motive individuals are suspicious of Sanders is that telling a feminine potential presidential candidate about these biases, at that stage, doesn’t appear diplomatic or useful. However I do suppose there’s a manner of acknowledging these biases that really will increase the possibility of combating them efficiently by saying, “Look, a girl could be actually up in opposition to it in sure methods and we’re going to should be vigilant in preventing for her if we imagine she’s one of the best candidate.”
That’s what I’ve tried to say with respect to Elizabeth Warren. I believe we have now to be very cautious about sure tales getting unwarranted traction or of double requirements being utilized. And perhaps much more importantly, we have now to watch out to not rejoice her on the improper grounds. The analysis about hyper-communal ladies with energy being acceptable worries me as a result of it feeds into gender biases about how ladies are purported to be — completely empathetic, completely compassionate, completely secure.
So we have now to acknowledge that the biases actually make this powerful for ladies, however not inconceivable, and that there could also be feminine candidates who’re actually value preventing for, after which we have now to exit and do this work. I don’t suppose it really works to simply reside in denial in regards to the biases.
Sean Illing
Ultimately, it appears like there simply isn’t a great way to speak about this, particularly if you happen to’re a feminine candidate. When you convey it up, you’re enjoying “identification politics,” or the sufferer card. When you ignore it, it by no means goes away. It’s an inescapable lure.
Kate Manne
I utterly agree with that. There’s no great way for Warren to convey this up that gained’t harm her with a big quantity of people that share a quite common implicit bias in opposition to ladies drawing ethical consideration to their very own predicament. So I believe that is true not solely of politicians, however ladies usually, making an attempt to attract consideration to methods by which she confronted sexism, and misogyny tends to draw extra of it.
The one resolution I can see is for her supporters and backers to convey up the truth that she goes to face a whole lot of these biases, that we have now an ethical accountability to not be complacent within the face of them, however somewhat to combat in opposition to them. In any other case, we’ll have a self-fulfilling prophecy on our fingers the place ladies can by no means win political workplace at this stage, and as an alternative of counting on her to convey up these components, my most popular technique is to attempt to be actually clear in regards to the biases that she’s dealing with after which to emphasise the truth that that doesn’t imply we should always surrender.
It means we should always double down and combat…