Are We with Her? Or Hillary?

This years’ election has been one for the record books. Never have we had two candidates run for the Presidential Office with this amount of controversy enveloping both parties. I think that it is safe to say that the majority of voters this year are not one hundred percent satisfied with either candidate that they had to choose from.

However, many voters, especially women are taking a stand, declaring that Hillary is exactly what this country has needed for quite some time. This is an interesting statement, and one that should be thoroughly examined.

Women have been the biggest factor, I believe in this election. Women, especially Republican women, will have a large impact on what happens this upcoming Tuesday. Celebrities such as Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, and the Kardashian family have given Hillary great publicity throughout her campaign. And finally, Michelle Obama has been a great surrogate speaker for Hillary, especially when trying to attack Trump’s weak points in an eloquent and strong feminine way.

These are all women that support Hillary and will keep supporting her through Tuesday. However, the question that goes through my mind at the end of the day, being a woman, is: Are women voting for Hillary because she is the right fit for office? OR are women voting for Hillary primarily because she is a woman?

With some of Hillary’s biggest supporters all being women, we must question ourselves and the true underlying reasons for our support, especially gender, in this election. This question in itself is extremely controversial, and I probably will receive backlash for asking it, but it is a valid point.

The women’s right movement has been growing and growing and truly come to a peak in this election. It is an incredible victory to have a woman on the ballot and have a true possibility of having our first female President. But it also the perfect time in our history for a woman to get elected to the ballot. This perfect timing is something to note especially when we consider the campaign rhetoric that has been used in Hillary’s camp.

The slogan, “I’m With Her,” is truly the first of its kind. It is revolutionary and historical and packs major punches from many different rhetorical angles. I think this is why it has been so popular and withstood throughout this campaign season. But this slogan has almost become a popular, and dare I say it,’cool’ thing to say and post on social media and other rhetorical realms. It has almost taken away from the character of Hillary and lent itself to gender alone.

This could be a hidden rhetorical strategy of sorts if we look at it in the perspective of a skeptic or Republican. Hillary has had many controversial and unsettling things come up in the past couple weeks in regards to her infamous email scandal. But people have steadily remained to post this slogan, without a thought. This makes me wonder, because the slogan refers, ‘her,’ do we forget about Hillary and focus on gender and that specific realm of her overall character? Because we gravitate towards women and their motherly nature. We are drawn to a nurturing and protective female figure. But Hillary has proven many times she does not embody this type of character.

Hillary has accomplished so much in her life. I would never want to take away from a female who has succeeded so much in a realm of work that is so male dominated. However, I want to bring to light the magnitude of the situation we are in and truly make people think about their reasoning behind their vote. There are so many successful women in politics and I am so excited about the possibility of this becoming a more steady trend in this area. But I want women to vote for women because they believe these women are truly worthy and up to the challenge ahead. I want us to be content with who are President is, regardless of their gender.

So are we voting for Her? OR for Hillary?