Opinion, Politics, World

Women choose not to vote Hillary Clinton on feminist grounds

Hillary Rodham Clinton
File Photo of Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton (AP Photo/John Locher)

This November, elections will be held for the 45th president of the United States, and Hillary Clinton is in the running as the first serious female candidate. While the idea of having a female president is revolutionary, many women are choosing not to vote for Clinton on feminist grounds. In a poll recently conducted by NBC News, the majority of women aged 18 to 24, the main demographic most likely to identify as feminists, plan to vote for Bernie Sanders.

Around 64% of women said they would vote for Bernie Sanders against only 35% who supported Hillary Clinton. The poll result reflected in the New Hampshire primary where Sanders convincingly beat Clinton with a huge margin. Sanders received 60% votes while Clinton could only get 38.4%.

There are several possible explanations for this phenomenon. First, many women who identify themselves as feminists have decided to vote for the most qualified and capable candidate, regardless of their gender. Along the same lines, many voters believe Bernie Sanders to be the best candidate when it comes to women’s rights. While Hillary Clinton has a history of flip-flopping on important matters such as LGBT+ rights and abortion, Sanders has always advocated for a woman’s right to chose and gay rights, along with advocating for a close in the pay gap.

For many women, it simply isn’t enough to be a woman or call yourself a feminist, as in Clinton’s case. In an attempt to sway feminist voters, during her campaign Clinton has been mentioning regularly the struggle a woman goes through in politics. However, instead of convincing women to vote for her, this has had an adverse affect. Women are offended that Clinton would expect a vote on the sole basis of the candidate’s gender. While many feminists have hope for a female president in the future, they recognize that Clinton will not fill that role.

Last week, at a Clinton rally, feminist icon and first female secretary of state Madeline Albright was quoted as saying, “we can tell our story of how we climbed the ladder, and a lot of you younger women think it’s done. It’s not done. There’s a special place in Hell for women who don’t help each other.” Instead of helping one woman be elected president, feminists are choosing to elect a candidate they believe will help all American women – Bernie Sanders.

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