Trump supporter, right-wing extremist, and Milwaukee County (Wis.) Sheriff David Clarke appeared on Megyn Kelly’s Fox News show The Kelly File, and he proved, once again, that the sexism against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is rampant.
RWNJ Sheriff: People Don’t Like ‘Mrs. Bill Clinton’
President Obama recently appeared on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and he discussed the sexism directed at Clinton. After playing a clip from Bee’s show, Megyn Kelly asked Sheriff Clarke what he thought about the charges. He started off using loaded terms like “race card” and “gender card,” then really stepped in it when he said:
“The reason why they don’t like Mrs. Bill Clinton is not because she’s a woman … If she can’t stand the heat, she should get out of the kitchen.”
Kelly’s other guest was Democratic strategist and Fox News contributor Julie Roginsky. As the sheriff spoke, her eyebrows raised in shock at his blatant sexism. Roginsky corrected him:
“Well, first and foremost, I think you just proved my point, Sheriff … She’s not Mrs. Bill Clinton. She happens to be Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is her own person running as an individual. She’s a former Senator, she is a [former] secretary of state. She’s not “Mrs. Bill Clinton …”
Clarke attempted to defend his indefensible position, interrupting Roginsky in the process, but she didn’t back down, saying:
“… She should embrace the fact that she’s a very accomplished lawyer in her own right, a very accomplished woman in her own right. And you just proved my point.”
Clinton is, indeed, a highly accomplished woman. She should be addressed as Secretary Clinton for now, and Madam President soon.
However, referring to any woman, regardless of her accomplishments, by her husband’s first AND last name is a relic of our patriarchal past that needs to die.
What’s In A Name?
It’s one thing for a person to take on their spouse’s name (regardless of gender). There are cogent arguments to be made for spouses to share a name, whether one takes the other’s name, they combine their names, or they come up with a new one entirely. Speaking as someone who did not take her husband’s name, I know firsthand the issues that can come with having different names in a household, though I happily deal with them as they come along.
It’s another thing, though, to call someone by another person’s name entirely. Referring to a woman as “Mrs. Husband’s First Name Husband’s Last Name” reduces her to nothing more than his property. She is no longer her own person.
Women are worth more than that, regardless of their resumé.
Unfortunately, many on the Right refuse to accept that.
Watch the clip from The Kelly File here:
Featured Image via screenshot from YouTube video
