“You don’t know what it’s like to be a woman,” an older woman snapped at me during a heated debate last month. “The elephant in the room is people aren’t voting for Hillary because they are sexist. Women can be sexist, too.”
I was incredulous. I know what it’s like to be a woman because I am a woman.
But as a young feminist talking to an older feminist, our interaction was a microcosm of broader trends in the United States. In the Democratic presidential race, a recent poll suggested that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders held a commanding lead over former secretary of state Hillary Clinton among millennial women.
Last month, feminist icon Gloria Steinem said young women are supporting Sanders because “the boys are with Bernie.” Meanwhile, former secretary of state Madeleine Albright proclaimed at a Clinton rally, “There's a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other!”
It’s a divide that has left older women scratching their heads: Why are millennial women rallying around the old white guy?
Then vs. now
Comparing the candidates on women's issues
To understand the reasons for this divide, we first looked at Sanders' and Clinton's respective platforms on women's rights:
Our conclusion? The candidates don't differ much when it comes to women's issues. Indeed, both Sanders and Clinton are far more progressive than their Republican counterparts.
“Personally, I #FeeltheBern for many reasons, including his long-time dedication to reproductive rights. In this regard, his platform includes expanding Planned Parenthood's funding, making sure companies can't deny insurance coverage for contraceptives, and guaranteeing that any woman can have a safe abortion,” writer Kelsey Clifton, 26, who has experienced sexism in her industry, told NTRSCTN.
“That being said, I think Hillary would also do a good job fighting for reproductive rights, as her platform includes some (but not all) of the same aspects.”
Leading up to the New Hampshire primary, however, the rivalry for the Democratic nomination became more cutthroat, with supporters from each side criticizing each other’s preferred candidate. Clinton and Sanders even subtweeted each other on their respective social accounts.
You can be a moderate. You can be a progressive. But you cannot be a moderate and a progressive.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 3, 2016
1) This shouldn't be a debate about who gets to define "progressive"—it should be about who will get real results for American families.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 3, 2016
What's causing the divide, then?
Over the years, Clinton's impressive and high-profile political career has been an inspiration for women trying to break the glass ceiling. But it's not her record on women's rights that's hurting her among millennial women—so what is?
According to an analysis by New Republic, young women suffer more than young men during times of economic instability: They're more likely to lack health insurance, and more likely to have debt one year after college graduation. As a result, millennial women may be attracted to Sanders' more radical brand of "democratic socialism." In the current economic climate, they're prioritizing other issues—on which Sanders is more left-wing—over women's issues.
"Though he is older than Hillary and though he has had a longer career in Washington than Hillary, Sanders has stayed away from the center of power in Washington. He has always been to the left of the party, and has raised his voice to criticize the coziness the Democratic Party with the powerful and wealthy,” Patricio Navia, a New York University professor who specializes in democracy, told NTRSCTN.
“Hillary belongs to the group that Sanders has historically criticized. So, in that sense, Hillary is the candidate of the establishment and Sanders is the candidate that challenges the establishment.”
Navia added that Sanders' reputation as an "outsider" is appealing to young voters, who strongly favor him over Clinton.
"He is saying that if a sufficiently large number of people get involved in the political systems, we can all get the rules to change, and advance progressive causes more quickly and speedily."
One young female Sanders supporter told NTRSCTN that she used to support Clinton, but later changed her mind.
“I support Bernie because of his position on campaign finance reform; we need to get money out of politics. I support Bernie because I believe as Americans, it is our responsibility to care for one another, through social programs like universal healthcare. I believe that we are overly involved in foreign affairs. I ultimately believe we need to care for our Earth," said Gabriella Butler, 20, a New York City-based college student. "Bernie is the only candidate that I agree with on most accounts. He isn't flawless, but he is close enough.”
But for Mary Higby, a 19-year-old student at the University of Georgia, a win for the Democratic Party is more important than who wins the nomination.
“I think I agree more with what Bernie has to say, but I also think he's too left for many people who will be on the fence in the final election," she told NTRSCTN. "I'm predicting that if Bernie gets the nomination, he will easily lose to the Republican candidate, so I'll probably be voting for Hillary, so there's actually a chance that the democratic candidate will win in the end.”
Millennial women, it seems, are voting based on candidates' platforms. In the ultimate feminist move, they're not considering gender, but rather what they think is best for America's future and their own.
With files from Anita Li
This post originally appeared on NTRSCTN.com
