The Atlantic visited a Clinton rally and a Trump rally, and asked the question, "What role should women have in society?"
An African American woman at a Trump rally said that she loves being a woman and wouldn't want to be a man - because "we have the benefit of 1) getting pregnant, having kids, and 2) we have the privilege of being able to be a wife to a husband." A Latina woman for Trump said, "We are the heart of the house, the heart of the family, and the heart of society."
When asked if she identified as a feminist, another woman for Trump said, "I wouldn't say that I'm a feminist...I support the traditional role of a woman."
"When I think of feminism, what I think of is the bra-burning!"
"Kind of a militant, almost angry, assertive female..."
"I don't know what feminism is, I don't pay attention to that!"
"If we just relax and be who we were created to be, I think it's a much better approach."
On Trump: "We see that he's a strong leader! Strong women love a strong man, and we don't care that he's a little rough around the edges."
I think many of these statements resonate with what we read from Phyllis Schlafly—women who reject "militant feminism" and are happy to have the privilege of being mothers and wives. We talk a lot about our country becoming increasingly polarized, and I think this is another great example of the sharp divide arising between women. Some expect all women to be immediately repelled by Trump's atrocious comments about sexual assault, but many women still support him. Does this go to show that women merely vote along party lines as they always have, and it's impossible to ever expect women to vote as a bloc, even for women's issues? Or does this show that women have wildly different perceptions of a woman's role in society, made even more polarized by candidates who couldn't encapsulate this difference more perfectly?
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