Trump is mostly in the news for the wrong reasons
This world is still a man’s world where women have to walk through the fire to prove her mettle despite tremendous progress made in the areas of gender equality. It’s unfortunate that the society which preaches gender equality is willing to pardon Trump for innumerable crimes he committed including sexual abuses, but is less tolerant for a Black woman who reached top of her game through moral conduct and years of relentless hard work.
As the whole world awaits with bated breath for the presidential election to be held this November in the United States of America, two major political parties, Republicans and Democrats are leaving no stones unturned to secure the coveted title of the ‘President’ in the most powerful economy in the world. This election is touted to be the most epic clash between the former president, Donald Trump and the first woman Vice President, Kamala Harris.
Youth role models uncover stereotypes
Having served as the 45th President of the United States of America, Republican’s Donald Trump is mostly in the news for the wrong reasons. He is the first president in America who has been found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsified business records. He has also been accused of sexual misconduct by many women over the years. Trump’s narcissism and disregard for the public's mandate was there for the world to witness when he sent a violent armed mob to attack in the Capitol due to his inability to admit his 2020 re-election defeat.
Kamala Harris, in stark contrast to her opponent, is a strong, compassionate public servant whose main purpose is to make her country a better place. She is the first woman, first Black person and first Asian American who ascended the throne of Vice Presidency in 2020. She was also the first black person elected to serve as Attorney General in California, America’s most populous state. She has broken many glass ceilings and her worth is woven into history- a tapestry rich with hard work, strength and triumph.
If two candidates' profiles are anything to go by, it is obvious that the fight this November is not just a battle between two different ideologies, it’s an epic battle between Unity versus Division. Trump thrives on power derived by dividing people and his campaign often glorifies toxic masculinity implying it as strength. It’s common to see him relegating femininity to sidelines labeling it as weakness. Harris, on the other hand, seeks to unite people and has pledged to be a president for all Americans. “Be a man to vote for a woman”, one of the profound call made by Harris during her election campaign has reverberated across the world.
In terms of policies, restoration of abortion rights and making the middle class stronger are at the center of Harris’s election campaign. If elected, her policy will focus on tax cuts for the middle class, whereas tax hikes on the wealthy. She has also pledged to reduce food and housing costs for working families. Her opponent, Trump seems to have the reverse strategy of being more lenient towards the upper class by reducing tax cuts on them. He has also advocated for imposing 10- 20% tariffs on most foreign goods and much higher ones for those from China which Harris has criticized heavily citing that the middle class will have to carry the burden of paying higher amounts for essential household goods. These two seem to have opposing views on the impact of climate change with Donald Trump terming Climate Change as a hoax. If re-elected, he aims to expand fossil fuels thereby overhauling Joe Biden and Harris administration’s clean energy initiatives.
Going by their respective policies and history, Kamala Harris should have been a unanimous choice. However, early polls suggesting this election to be a tight race raises a mammoth of questions. This world is still a man’s world where women have to walk through the fire to prove her mettle despite tremendous progress made in the areas of gender equality. It’s unfortunate that the society which preaches gender equality is willing to pardon Trump for innumerable crimes he committed including sexual abuses, but is less tolerant for a Black woman who reached top of her game through moral conduct and years of relentless hard work. It’s the same society which labels her infectious laugh as crazy and weird. If she shows up too tough, she is portrayed cold and if shows empathy, she is labeled weak to run the country. Why is it that this old age practices of labeling women’s emotions as hysterical is still prevalent in this modern world? It’s unfortunate that criticizing women’s emotional expression is still the most popular choice for those who want to cut down women in political power. This hypocritical society proudly preaches freedom of choice but questions Harris' ability to lead the future generation just because she does not have her own biological children. This is the same society that seems to have royally ignored that many former US male presidents also did not have biological children and strangely, their ability to lead the country had never been questioned. This highly biased world which holds around 50% of the female population is still not comfortable to be led by women.
It is apparent that insurmountable challenges lie ahead for Harris. Navigating through biases of sexism and racism among voters is an uphill struggle for her. She has to fight with people’s long held stereotype of being uncomfortable with a Black woman being the President of the most powerful Democracy in the world. However, she is a lady as tough as nails. If history is anything to go by, she had never been comfortable with being comfortable. Her humble background, reaching the pinnacle of success on her own merit to serving her country as a faithful public servant is testament to her strength, resilience and hard work. She has a history of defying all the odds and standing tall and emerging victorious in the face of adversity. Over the years, she has harnessed this unique ability to convey both strength and sympathy that too in the most authentic ways. During the course of her career, she has learned to navigate double standards widely prevalent in our society and her playbook is set to be a powerful precedent for the years to come.
Stakes are high with this election expected to be a razor-thin contest. It is obvious that Trump’s win will propel people and the country backwards, towards the same relentless cycle of hatred, divisiveness and toxic masculinity. In contrast, Harris' victory will propel people to expand the circle of love, unity and compassion where people of different color, different religion, and different backgrounds will make spaces for each other as brothers and sisters. Her victory will send a powerful message across the world as it will proudly dismantle toxic masculinity. It’s up to citizens in America to shake off gender stereotypes and not to let toxic masculinity reign supreme this election.
