Bitchy History - January 08, 2025


Why the Hell Canā€™t the United States Elect a Woman as Presidentļ¼Ÿ


Episode Stats


Length

28 minutes

Words per minute

176.14

Word count

5,006

Sentence count

357

Harmful content

Misogyny

174

sentences flagged

Toxicity

6

sentences flagged

Hate speech

40

sentences flagged


Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 Welcome to Bitchy History, the irreverent history podcast where one history professor 0.89
00:00:17.180 gets to bitch about history and the impact it has on the world today. 0.88
00:00:21.260 Well, everybody, welcome to 2025. It's gonna suck. Anyway, I hope you all had a great holiday 0.99
00:00:28.260 season, or at least had one with minimal interaction with your insane MAGA relatives.
00:00:33.600 On that note, you guys know that you aren't actually required to spend holidays with them,
00:00:38.960 right? I spent Christmas in a food coma, watching Die Hard, Die Hard 2, and that one episode of
00:00:44.380 Star Trek The Next Generation where Picard does Die Hard on the Enterprise. There was a theme.
00:00:49.000 But most importantly, there was absolutely no Trump supporters anywhere near me the entire time,
00:00:55.620 and it was glorious. But before we get into today's episode, I would like to remind you
00:01:00.780 that my lecture series on Star Trek and American history will be starting up soon. To get access,
00:01:05.960 you'll need to be a paid subscriber on bitchyhistory.com. It's only $5 a month. It's 1.00
00:01:11.120 less than anything at Starbucks. I promise you, you won't regret subscribing. Not only will you
00:01:17.360 get access to the lecture series that's upcoming, you'll get access to future lecture series that I
00:01:22.080 planning, and these will include live Zoom calls and Q&A, and also you will get access to recordings
00:01:28.140 of the lectures. You'll also get access to subscriber-exclusive articles like the series
00:01:33.120 that I am currently putting out on the history of women's anthems and music. Now on to today's
00:01:38.560 podcast, which is both timely and frustrating as hell. Why the hell can't the United States elect
00:01:45.440 a woman as president? Let's get one thing straight. The United States loves to brand itself as the 0.92
00:01:51.180 global leader in democracy. Land of the free. Home of the brave, right? But here's the thing.
00:01:56.840 While other countries are out there electing females left and right, we're still stuck 1.00
00:02:01.420 debating whether a woman can be likable enough to sit in the Oval Office. And frankly, it's 0.99
00:02:06.860 embarrassing. And don't get me started on the double standards. Male candidates can scream
00:02:11.620 into a microphone, wave their fists, mock people openly, and we'll call it charisma. 1.00
00:02:16.400 But if a woman does it, she's shrill or too emotional. 1.00
00:02:20.400 Meanwhile, countries like Iceland, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand 1.00
00:02:23.540 have figured out that women can lead without the sky falling.
00:02:27.140 So what's our excuse? 1.00
00:02:28.820 Today, we are pulling back the curtain on the women 0.88
00:02:30.840 who have dared to put their names on the ballot in the United States.
00:02:34.140 From Victoria Woodhull's audacious run in 1872
00:02:37.260 to Kamala Harris's historic vice presidency and 2024 presidential bid, 0.97
00:02:42.600 these women have faced every roadblock you can imagine and then some. 0.97
00:02:46.500 We'll also take a brief global detour to countries that have shattered the glass ceiling, 0.99
00:02:50.860 sometimes decades ago. Angela Merkel ran Germany like a boss for 16 years. 0.97
00:02:56.120 Jacinda Ardern passed gun reforms, and here we are, still stuck in the
00:02:59.900 but-can-she-handle-the-nuclear-codes-if-she-has-a-period-phase? Please.
00:03:05.680 Here's the thing. Representation isn't just about symbolism. It's about power.
00:03:10.400 When women lead, they bring different perspectives and priorities to the table. 0.98
00:03:14.820 Studies show that countries with women in leadership 0.97
00:03:17.080 often have stronger health care systems,
00:03:19.220 more equitable policies, and, shockingly, fewer wars.
00:03:23.440 But here in the U.S., we can't seem to get the idea 1.00
00:03:25.780 that women belong in the Oval Office through to people 1.00
00:03:28.260 just as much as they belong in any other career. 0.99
00:03:30.780 It's not for lack of trying. 1.00
00:03:32.240 Women have been running for president since the 19th century, 1.00
00:03:34.760 before women even had the right to vote in the United States. 0.98
00:03:38.220 The problem is the system, the culture, 1.00
00:03:40.340 and, yeah, that's all pretty much set up on patriarchy.
00:03:44.320 Let's take it back to the 19th century to start out.
00:03:46.740 Picture this. 1.00
00:03:47.480 Women couldn't vote. 1.00
00:03:48.420 They couldn't own property in many states 1.00
00:03:50.180 and were often considered the property of their husbands, in fact.
00:03:53.480 So naturally, some absolute legends of women decided,
00:03:57.160 hey, you know what we should do? 1.00
00:03:59.020 We should run for president.
00:04:00.620 And that's exactly what they did. 1.00
00:04:02.700 We'll start out with Victoria Woodhull, 1.00
00:04:04.520 a woman with no time for society's rules. 0.91
00:04:07.220 Born in 1838 to a family of, shall we say, 0.96
00:04:10.800 questionable moral character at the time,
00:04:13.580 Think traveling spiritualists who ran grifts on the side. 1.00
00:04:17.140 Victoria took those survival skills and turned them into a Wall Street empire. 1.00
00:04:21.200 That's right. 1.00
00:04:21.840 She was the first woman to own a brokerage firm. 1.00
00:04:24.080 Eat your heart out, Wolf of Wall Street. 0.81
00:04:26.220 In 1872, she decided to run for president under the Equal Rights Party platform. 1.00
00:04:31.140 Her campaign called for women's suffrage, obviously, an eight-hour workday, and free
00:04:35.780 love, which wasn't as scandalous as it sounds. 1.00
00:04:38.560 It was about women making their own choices, like having the right to divorce.
00:04:42.620 Naturally, this terrified men everywhere. 0.64
00:04:45.660 And just to make things more dramatic, 1.00
00:04:47.580 Woodhull's campaign got derailed when she was arrested 0.98
00:04:49.900 for publishing a scandalous article about a preacher's affair.
00:04:53.220 Because apparently the real crime wasn't the affair, 1.00
00:04:55.960 it was a woman choosing to expose it. 1.00
00:04:58.460 Victoria didn't win, but she put the idea of women in politics on the map,
00:05:02.460 and for that, we love her. 0.96
00:05:04.540 Next up is Belva Ann Lockwood,
00:05:06.680 a woman who said,
00:05:08.100 if the system won't let me in, I'll rewrite the rules. 0.93
00:05:11.280 Born in 1830, Lockwood became the first woman admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C.,
00:05:16.000 and Lair the first woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court.
00:05:19.620 Oh, and she had to draft the law that made that possible, by the way. 1.00
00:05:23.800 Lockwood ran for president twice, in 1884 and 1888, under the Equal Rights Party. 0.96
00:05:29.360 Her platform included peace, equality, and what we would now call intersectional feminism.
00:05:34.960 When people mocked her campaign, she famously said,
00:05:37.420 I cannot vote, but I can be voted for.
00:05:40.220 Honestly, that could have been put on a t-shirt.
00:05:42.980 Obviously, she didn't win either time that she ran, 1.00
00:05:45.940 but she inspired a generation of women to push boundaries 1.00
00:05:48.440 and prove that running for office wasn't just for the boys' club. 0.92
00:05:52.440 It wasn't until 1964 that we got another noteworthy attempt 1.00
00:05:56.060 at a woman running for president, 1.00
00:05:58.360 and that would be Margaret Chase Smith, 0.99
00:06:00.100 a Republican senator who was the first woman to serve in both the House and the Senate. 0.97
00:06:04.420 And trust me, she didn't just sit in those rooms, she owned them. 1.00
00:06:08.480 Smith became famous for her declaration of conscience speech 0.98
00:06:11.380 during the McCarthy era,
00:06:12.800 where she called out her party for enabling fear-mongering.
00:06:16.080 In 1964, she decided to run for president.
00:06:18.940 She didn't win the nomination,
00:06:20.440 but she became the first woman to have her name placed in the nomination
00:06:23.480 by a major party.
00:06:25.020 And that's not nothing.
00:06:26.640 Smith showed that a woman could be taken seriously on the national stage,
00:06:29.800 even if she was surrounded by men
00:06:31.300 who still thought that a woman president was an impossibility.
00:06:35.260 And then there's Shirley Chisholm,
00:06:36.820 who came onto the scene in 1972 and said,
00:06:39.680 I'm not going to wait for permission to run for office.
00:06:42.220 Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968,
00:06:45.960 and four years later, she became the first Black woman to run for president under a major party. 0.70
00:06:50.800 Her slogan, unbought and unbossed, wasn't just catchy.
00:06:54.600 It was her entire ethos.
00:06:55.840 She ran on a platform of equity and justice,
00:06:58.780 calling for systemic change long before it was trendy. 0.67
00:07:01.560 Her campaign was anything but easy.
00:07:03.360 She faced racism and sexism from all sides, including her own party,
00:07:07.520 and while she didn't win, she secured 151 delegate votes at the Democratic National Convention.
00:07:13.120 Not bad for someone the establishment tried to ignore.
00:07:16.320 Tisholm's candidacy wasn't just about breaking barriers, it was about smashing them into a million pieces. 1.00
00:07:21.420 She paved the way for women of color in politics, 0.99
00:07:23.780 showing the world that wait your turn is not a phrase that women are interested in following. 0.51
00:07:28.600 So what did all these trailblazers have in common?
00:07:30.980 Aside from being absolute icons, they all showed up in spaces where they weren't invited and they refused to leave. 1.00
00:07:37.860 They proved that women belonged in politics long before society was ready to admit it. 1.00
00:07:42.620 But running for office wasn't easy for these women. 1.00
00:07:44.980 They faced ridicule, legal barriers, and outright hostility, and yet they kept going.
00:07:49.760 If that's not inspiring, I don't know what is. 0.99
00:07:52.820 So now let's fast forward to the modern era where women are no longer just breaking barriers, 1.00
00:07:57.080 they are smashing them with baseball bats, and it's making men very uncomfortable. The fight for 1.00
00:08:02.920 the presidency hasn't gotten any easier. Sure, female candidates are more visible than ever, 0.99
00:08:07.980 but their challenges have only evolved into more insidious forms. Let's talk about the 0.98
00:08:12.280 game changers of the 1980s and beyond. We'll start with Geraldine Ferrero, the first woman
00:08:17.780 to be nominated for vice president by a major party. In 1984, Walter Mondale made the bold,
00:08:23.100 some might say a revolutionary choice to pick Ferraro as his running mate.
00:08:27.540 And for a brief moment, it felt like progress.
00:08:30.060 But of course, the media had to media.
00:08:32.080 Ferraro was grilled about her husband's finances
00:08:34.160 and treated like a novelty act rather than a serious contender.
00:08:37.800 Ferraro and Mondale lost in a landslide,
00:08:40.260 but Ferraro's nomination shattered a major glass ceiling. 0.99
00:08:43.020 She paved the way for a future woman to be considered 0.99
00:08:44.960 not just for the second spot, but the top spot itself. 1.00
00:08:48.320 And then we get to Hillary Clinton.
00:08:50.260 Love her, hate her, or feel meh about her, 0.63
00:08:52.560 I usually fall into the third category, 0.99
00:08:55.040 there's no denying that she's a pivotal figure in the history of women in politics. 1.00
00:08:59.400 Clinton's first presidential shot came in 2008 1.00
00:09:01.740 when she ran a fierce primary campaign against then-Senator Barack Obama. 1.00
00:09:06.060 She didn't win, but she came damn close.
00:09:08.660 And then came 2016. 1.00
00:09:10.680 Clinton made history as the first woman to secure a major party's presidential nomination.
00:09:15.560 Her campaign slogan was Stronger Together, and it spoke to unity and progress.
00:09:19.580 But of course, the 2016 election became anything but that.
00:09:23.760 Instead of debating her policies, we were stuck talking about her emails, her pantsuits,
00:09:28.000 and whether she smiled enough, because apparently that's what leadership is about. 0.97
00:09:32.260 And let's not forget, Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes, but thanks
00:09:36.860 to the Electoral College, a system that serves a legitimate purpose but also has legitimate
00:09:41.780 reasons for critique and change, she lost the presidency. 0.81
00:09:45.440 And just like that, the glass ceiling reinforced itself.
00:09:48.780 Clinton's loss was a gut punch, no question, 0.51
00:09:50.960 but her campaign showed that a woman could go toe-to-toe with the political boys' club and come out swinging. 1.00
00:09:56.260 Her candidacy inspired countless women to step up, even if the system wasn't ready for her. 1.00
00:10:01.400 And of course, we can't talk about modern women in politics without at least mentioning Elizabeth Warren.
00:10:05.840 In 2020, the Massachusetts senator ran one of the most detailed, policy-heavy campaigns in recent memory.
00:10:12.240 Warren's platform included plans for everythingā€”healthcare, education, child care.
00:10:16.260 You name it, she had a plan.
00:10:18.200 but instead of focusing on her policies, surprise, surprise, the media latched onto her tone. 1.00
00:10:23.800 She was called angry and shrill, as if women are supposed to whisper about fixing a broken system 1.00
00:10:28.820 instead of scream. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders was out there yelling at rallies and being called
00:10:33.620 passionate. I can see the double standard, can you? Of course, Warren didn't win the nomination,
00:10:40.200 but her campaign slogan, Persist, became a rallying cry for women everywhere. And let's 1.00
00:10:45.220 be honest, it's a perfect summary of what women in politics have to do just to survive. Though I do 0.99
00:10:50.500 admit that I have a certain Virgo fondness for her unofficial slogan. I have a plan for that.
00:10:56.100 And then, of course, we come to a recent loss that really still stings. Conala Harris, the woman who
00:11:01.440 broke through one of the biggest barriers in American politics for women. In 2020, Harris became
00:11:06.740 the first woman of color to be elected vice president. Harris's political rise is nothing 0.99
00:11:11.580 short of historic. Before becoming VP, she served as California's Attorney General and then as a 0.99
00:11:16.680 U.S. Senator, where she made a name for herself, grilling witnesses during hearings like it was 1.00
00:11:21.260 her full-time job. Well, because it kind of was, at least it had been her former full-time job. 0.74
00:11:26.860 She was one of the most qualified, if not the most qualified candidate we've seen for the 0.96
00:11:31.700 presidency, male or female. When President Biden announced he would no longer be running and for
00:11:36.940 re-election in 2024, Harris launched her own campaign for the presidency. It was a historic
00:11:42.260 moment in American history, and considering that she only had about three months to actually
00:11:46.600 campaign, she did a hell of a job. However, her campaign has served as a reminder of how far we 0.66
00:11:52.500 still have to go in America. The media spent more time dissecting her likability than they did on 1.00
00:11:57.800 the obvious sundowning of a felon with 34 convictions. Do I sound bitter? Yeah, I probably
00:12:04.100 do, and that's because I am, and I bet if you're listening to this podcast, you are too. So what
00:12:10.020 do all these modern contenders teach us? First, that women have more than proven they can run 0.99
00:12:14.820 for president. Second, that the barriers they faceā€”media bias, fundraising challenges, 1.00
00:12:20.320 institutional sexism, and racismā€”haven't gone anywhere. But third, and most importantly,
00:12:26.240 that we're not backing down. Now, let's step out of the United States for a minute and take a look
00:12:31.900 at the rest of the world, because they're not waiting to figure out if a woman can lead. 0.91
00:12:36.740 While the U.S. has been dragging its feet for 250 years, countries like Sri Lanka, 0.61
00:12:42.260 Germany, and New Zealand have been electing women who have not only led, but thrived.
00:12:47.200 So let's talk about these global trailblazers and what they've accomplished while we've
00:12:50.920 been debating likability. Our journey starts in Sri Lanka, where Sirmova Bandaranaikaā€”I
00:12:57.420 am definitely slaughtering that last name, I apologize, became the world's first female
00:13:02.200 prime minister in 1960. Yes, you heard that right. The very first. Senator Mavo stepped 1.00
00:13:08.120 into politics after her husband, the sitting prime minister, was assassinated. While some
00:13:12.700 called her a symbolic widow, she quickly showed that she was anything but. She focused on
00:13:18.040 socialist policies, nationalized key industries, and aligned Sri Lanka with non-aligned nations
00:13:23.320 during the Cold War. And let's be real, running a country while navigating the geopolitics of the
00:13:28.500 1960s was no small feat. Next, we've got Indira Gandhi, who became India's first female prime
00:13:35.240 minister in 1966. Known as the Iron Lady of India, Gandhi centralized power, navigated wars,
00:13:42.560 and launched major agricultural reforms that transformed India's economy. Sure, she declared
00:13:47.960 a controversial state of emergency in the 1970s, but hey, show me a male leader who hasn't overreached
00:13:53.060 at least once. I'll wait. Dondi wasn't just a leader, she was a force of nature. Her legacy
00:13:58.580 is complicated, but there's no denying that she set the bar for what women could achieve in global 1.00
00:14:03.040 politics. Then there's Golda Meir, Israel's first and so far only female prime minister. 0.99
00:14:09.400 Known for her no-nonsense style, Meir led the country through the Yom Kippur War and managed
00:14:13.800 some of the most challenging crises in Israel's history. She once said, whether women are better 0.79
00:14:18.820 than men, I cannot say, but I can say they are certainly no worse. Now, however you might feel
00:14:24.760 about Israel, that sounds about right for women and men. And now we move on to the 21st century,
00:14:31.420 where women are taking the reins politically in more and more countries. As I mentioned earlier
00:14:36.280 in the episode, Angela Merkel, often called the world's most powerful woman, served as Germany's
00:14:41.320 chancellor for 16 years. Merkel didn't just lead Germany, she practically ran the EU.
00:14:47.140 Okay, the EU over in Brussels might disagree with that, but they'll get over it.
00:14:51.020 Her steady, pragmatic leadership got Germany through the Eurozone crisis,
00:14:55.440 and her science background gave her a no-nonsense approach to policymaking.
00:14:59.660 Was she flashy? Absolutely not.
00:15:01.980 Did she care? Also, no.
00:15:04.360 Merkel showed that leadership isn't actually about charisma, it's about results, and she delivered.
00:15:09.960 And then in New Zealand, Jacinda Ayrn became the youngest female leader in the world
00:15:14.380 when she was elected Prime Minister of New Zealand in 2017.
00:15:18.140 After the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019,
00:15:21.080 she showed what compassion and decisive action looked like,
00:15:24.460 banning assault weapons in record time.
00:15:26.560 Meanwhile, in the U.S., we can't even agree that gun violence is a problem
00:15:30.000 even when it's the number one cause of death for children. 0.73
00:15:33.380 We're too busy worrying about drag queen story hour.
00:15:37.020 Arden also navigated COVID-19 with empathy and transparency,
00:15:40.820 making New Zealand one of the safest places during the pandemic.
00:15:43.600 And sure, you could argue that they are a remote island country, which probably helped a little bit.
00:15:49.580 But you know what? She still did the work.
00:15:52.440 She proved that strong leadership and kindness aren't mutually exclusive.
00:15:56.420 They're complementary.
00:15:58.220 And then, of course, there's Claudia Scheinbaum, who became Mexico's first female president in 2024.
00:16:04.240 God, why couldn't we be more like Mexico?
00:16:06.860 Which is not a sentence I say very often.
00:16:09.580 Scheinbaum, a scientist by training and former mayor of Mexico City,
00:16:13.600 has broken through the machismo culture that's dominated Mexican politics for decades.
00:16:18.460 Her election is a testament to women's progress in Latin America 0.99
00:16:21.260 and a reminder that the U.S. is still playing catch-up.
00:16:24.980 So here's the burning question. 1.00
00:16:26.640 Why are some countries electing women to lead 0.68
00:16:29.120 while the U.S. has a record-breaking zero female presence? 1.00
00:16:33.280 Women only hold 28% of congressional seats in this country 1.00
00:16:36.500 while we make up over 50% of the population. 1.00
00:16:40.240 Turns out, a lot of it comes down to the systems we have in place.
00:16:44.100 Other countries have embraced systemic changes, 0.87
00:16:46.540 like gender quotas and party reforms to get women into positions of power. 0.93
00:16:50.720 Let's take a world tour and see how they've done it. 0.99
00:16:53.600 In South Asia, they have produced some of the most iconic female leaders,
00:16:57.200 from Indira Gandhi in India to Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan.
00:17:01.080 And before you ask, no, they didn't rise to power
00:17:03.620 because the region is particularly progressive about gender equality. 0.98
00:17:07.200 Quite the opposite.
00:17:08.580 Here's how it works.
00:17:09.620 Dynastic politics have often paved the way in these nations. 1.00
00:17:13.260 After the deaths of male relatives, women like Gandhi and Bhutto stepped into leadership roles, 0.95
00:17:18.220 sometimes as placeholders. 0.95
00:17:19.980 But let's be real, these women were far more than just placeholders. 0.99
00:17:24.360 For instance, Benazir Bhutto was the first woman to lead a Muslim-majority country. 1.00
00:17:28.840 Her rise to power wasn't easy.
00:17:30.320 She faced constant opposition, including imprisonment and exile.
00:17:33.860 but she became a symbol of resilience and progress in a region where women's leadership
00:17:38.120 is often seen as revolutionary. So is dynastic politics an ideal pathway to leadership? 1.00
00:17:44.000 No, absolutely not. But it's opened doors in regions where those doors were otherwise sealed
00:17:49.540 shut. And once those women got through, they didn't just sit in the corner, they led. 1.00
00:17:54.880 Then we can hop over to Europe, where parliamentary systems have been a game changer 1.00
00:17:58.500 for women in politics. Unlike the US, where candidates have to campaign like they're 1.00
00:18:03.120 auditioning for reality TV, and we see how that works out for us, parliamentary leaders are chosen
00:18:08.980 by their parties. This allows women to rise through the ranks without the same level of 1.00
00:18:13.240 public scrutiny that plagues U.S. presidential campaigns. The parliamentary model reduces some 1.00
00:18:18.920 of the hyper-masculine posturing that dominates U.S. presidential campaigning. It's not perfect,
00:18:24.020 but it has given Europe a head start in breaking the political glass ceiling for women.
00:18:29.160 And then we come to Africa, where gender quotas have been a game-changer for women in many African 0.74
00:18:34.720 nations. Rwanda, for instance, is leading the charge with women holding over 60% of parliamentary
00:18:40.400 seats. Yes, 60%. Let that sink in. After the 1994 genocide, Rwanda rebuilt its political system
00:18:48.260 with women at its center. The government introduced a constitutional quota requiring that at least 30%
00:18:54.040 of parliamentary seats be held by women, and the results have far exceeded expectations.
00:18:58.960 Today, women are driving policy on health care, education, and economic reform.
00:19:03.940 Then, in South Africa, they have also embraced gender quotas, with women holding about 46%
00:19:09.680 of parliamentary seats. Political parties like the African National Congress have adopted internal
00:19:14.800 quotas as well, ensuring that women are represented at every level of decision-making.
00:19:19.980 In Liberia, we have seen Africa's first elected female head of state with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
00:19:25.400 As Liberia's president from 2006 to 2018, she led the country through post-Civil War recovery,
00:19:31.640 proving that women can lead even in the most challenging of circumstances.
00:19:36.000 Gender quotas aren't about lowering standards, no matter what anybody says about DEI. 0.99
00:19:41.320 They're about leveling the playing field in systems that have historically excluded women,
00:19:46.000 and evidence shows that they work. 0.91
00:19:48.540 So what can the U.S. take away from all of this?
00:19:51.020 For starters, other countries didn't wait for cultural attitudes to evolve. 0.99
00:19:55.060 They implemented systemic change, gender quotas, party reforms, and better support for female candidates.
00:20:01.420 The results? More women in leadership, faster.
00:20:04.860 Second, these leaders have shown there's no one-size-fits-all approach to leadership.
00:20:09.280 Whether it's Merkel's pragmatism, Ardern's empathy, Sheinbaum's scientific precision, or Rwanda's policy-driven focus,
00:20:15.640 Women bring diverse skills and perspectives to the table.
00:20:19.480 Maybe it's time we embrace that. 1.00
00:20:21.440 And finally, let's stop pretending the U.S. is the best democracy in the world 0.87
00:20:25.600 when we're lagging behind so many countries in gender equity. 0.91
00:20:29.400 If Rwanda can achieve majority female representation, what's our excuse?
00:20:34.640 Oh, you actually want to know what our excuse is. 0.93
00:20:37.880 Okay, it's systemic sexism. That's not exactly a surprise.
00:20:42.580 Our political system, our media, our culture are basically designed to keep women out of 1.00
00:20:47.440 the Oval Office. 1.00
00:20:48.420 So let's unpack this dumpster fire, shall we? 0.98
00:20:51.880 One of the first major issues to look at is the blatantly and infuriating sexism of the 0.96
00:20:57.540 media. 0.76
00:20:58.220 If you're a woman running for president, get ready to have your wardrobe, voice, and 1.00
00:21:02.080 facial expressions analyzed more than your actual policies. 1.00
00:21:05.480 Welcome to the likability trap, where women are expected to be strong, but not cold, confident, 1.00
00:21:10.860 but not arrogant, and warm, but not weak. It's exhausting just thinking about it.
00:21:15.620 Let's take Hillary Clinton as Exhibit A. In 2016, she faced endless criticism for being 0.99
00:21:20.800 unrelatable, but Donald Trump, a man who literally lives in a golden tower,
00:21:26.400 was somehow considered authentic. Make that make sense. These challenges multiply for women of
00:21:32.300 color. Shirley Trisholm faced it in 1972. Kamala Harris faced it in 2024. The racism and sexism 1.00
00:21:39.260 they encounter are intertwined, creating a double whammy of bias that's very hard to overcome.
00:21:44.620 When Harris became vice president, the backlash wasn't just about her politics, it was about her
00:21:49.120 identity. She's black, South Asian, and a woman, which apparently makes some people very uncomfortable. 1.00
00:21:55.180 But Harris wasn't there to make people comfortable. She was there to lead. That was what mattered.
00:22:00.500 America also has an obsession with strongman leaders, the kind of guys who pound their fists,
00:22:05.740 shout a lot, and pretend they're running the Roman Empire instead of a democracy. 1.00
00:22:10.080 It's no wonder women struggle to fit into this outdated archetype. 1.00
00:22:13.800 Leadership isn't about brute strength, it's about strategy, empathy, and results. 1.00
00:22:17.880 But try telling that to a country that still fetishizes masculinity in politics.
00:22:22.740 And here's the kicker. 1.00
00:22:23.880 Women are often labeled unelectable simply because they're women. 1.00
00:22:27.480 Never mind that women are winning at every other level of government, 1.00
00:22:30.800 governors, senators, mayors, you name it. 1.00
00:22:32.880 But when it comes to the presidency, we act like it's an impossible leap.
00:22:36.820 This myth persists because people, even women, internalize the idea that men are more natural
00:22:42.860 leaders. Spoiler alert, they're not. Women have been leading families, communities,
00:22:48.260 and revolutions for centuries. It's about time we acknowledged it. 0.91
00:22:52.340 And let's not let the political parties off the hook. Both Democrats and Republicans have
00:22:56.800 a history of gatekeeping when it comes to women candidates. Sure, they love to parade women out 1.00
00:23:01.700 for photo ops, but when it's time to pick a nominee, they're suddenly very concerned about 0.87
00:23:06.160 electability. Now let's take a second to talk about what happens when women lead. 1.00
00:23:10.940 Not that we should have to. Men have had the opportunity to lead, and it shouldn't be up to 1.00
00:23:15.560 women to prove they'll be better than men to get that chance. But in point of fact, they are.
00:23:21.040 Studies show that countries with more women in leadership tend to prioritize health care, 0.99
00:23:25.180 education, and family-friendly policies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, women-led countries like 0.53
00:23:30.720 New Zealand and Germany had some of the best outcomes. Why? Because empathy and long-term 0.99
00:23:36.380 thinking are apparently female superpowers. And here's a fun fact. Female leaders are also less 0.99
00:23:42.480 likely to start wars. Shocking, I know. While male leaders are out there flexing their machismo, 1.00
00:23:48.120 women are more often focused on diplomacy and conflict resolution. Maybe, just maybe, 1.00
00:23:53.620 we need more of that. Because it turns out that women run a pretty tight ship overall, 1.00
00:23:58.180 whether that's prime minister or president or a city council. In 1888, a small Kansas town
00:24:04.280 became the first in America to have the first all-woman municipal government. Mary D. Loman 0.98
00:24:09.800 was a widow dressmaker who somehow found herself running for mayor of Oskaloosa in 1888. Her 1.00
00:24:15.840 candidacy wasn't part of a grand feminist movement or a coordinated political effort. No, no, her 0.99
00:24:21.080 name was put forward as a joke by a group of men who thought it would be hilarious to nominate a
00:24:25.720 woman. Surprise, the joke backfired when Lohman actually won the election. So what did Lohman do
00:24:31.460 with her unexpected role as mayor? For starters, she took the job pretty seriously. The men might 0.98
00:24:37.360 have nominated her as a joke, but Lohman understood the importance of governance. She oversaw the
00:24:42.120 management of public works, handled town finances, and navigated the complexities of small-town 1.00
00:24:46.640 politics, all while running her dressmaking business on the side. However, it wasn't just
00:24:51.780 her running things. A year before, the city had elected the first all-female city council. 1.00
00:24:57.300 Once in office, this all-woman leadership team rolled up their sleeves and got to work. 0.99
00:25:01.360 They managed the city's finances, addressed major infrastructure issues, and ensured that 0.74
00:25:06.160 Oskaloosa ran smoothly. Remember, this was 1888. There were no fancy management tools,
00:25:11.860 no staff to handle the paperwork, and definitely no how-to-govern-a-city TikTok tutorial. 1.00
00:25:16.700 These women were navigating completely uncharted territory for them. Of course, not everyone was
00:25:21.580 thrilled about Oskaloosa's all-woman government, many men were skeptical, assuming that women would
00:25:26.320 fail and prove that politics was a man's job. A newspaper suggested that a petticoatocracy 0.99
00:25:31.760 was quarreling over whether the city flag should be shirred, cut by us, or trimmed with lace.
00:25:37.680 The Topeka Journal retaliated. Some sour fellows are ridiculing the Oskaloosa city government.
00:25:42.760 It makes them mad to see a woman do anything but fry beefsteak. It turned out the women were 1.00
00:25:47.780 actually pretty good at their jobs. One of their notable achievements was maintaining fiscal 1.00
00:25:52.280 discipline. Unlike their male predecessors, who often ran up large debts, the team ensured that
00:25:57.440 the city's finances were in order. They tackled public works projects, improved roads and
00:26:02.880 sanitation. Basically, they did what needed to be done without all of the theatrics that came when
00:26:07.980 men were in charge. As the 1889 election approached, Oskaloosa's experiment with an
00:26:13.300 all-woman government became a heated topic of debate. Supporters pointed to the city council's 0.85
00:26:18.700 accomplishments. They had inherited a depleted treasury, poorly maintained streets, and crumbling
00:26:23.500 side rocks, yet they had managed to deliver substantial improvements and still end the year
00:26:28.000 with a surplus. The McLuth Times summarized the sentiments of many of their admirers.
00:26:33.180 The woman's government took hold of Oscaloosa with a depleted treasury and lots of poor streets,
00:26:38.280 but during the year they have made many needed improvements and have over a hundred dollars in 0.98
00:26:42.500 the Treasury, it would only be justice to give them another term at the helm. They got a second
00:26:47.840 term because women, when given the chance to lead, do it right. So what's next? The future is shaped 1.00
00:26:54.940 by voters. Younger generations are more diverse, more progressive, less tied to traditional gender
00:26:59.880 roles. As millennials and Gen Z become the dominant voting blocs, the idea of a woman president in 0.99
00:27:05.460 our country will seem less radical and more inevitable. When the U.S. finally elects a woman 1.00
00:27:10.660 president, it won't just be a victory for her. It'll be a victory for all the women who came 0.99
00:27:14.780 before her. From Victoria Woodhull to Kamala Harris, every campaign has brought us closer to
00:27:19.720 that moment. But electing a woman as president isn't the endgame. It's the beginning of a new
00:27:24.980 chapter where leadership in America is defined by competence, empathy, and vision, not gender.
00:27:30.720 The fight for a female president has been long and messy, but progress is happening. The glass
00:27:35.740 ceiling isn't unbreakable. It's just very stubborn. And when it finally shatters, we'll be
00:27:41.460 here to celebrate. Thanks for joining me on this episode of Bitchy History. Don't forget to 1.00
00:27:46.060 subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it. Until next time,
00:27:51.400 keep fighting the good fight. And remember, the future is female, but so is the past. 1.00
00:27:56.580 Thank you for tuning in to hear me bitch about history. If you're loving the show, 0.82
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