A woman can only rise in politics if she's slept with the right men or if in fact she… she is not a woman. Kamala Harris is far from the first to fall victim to this disgusting sexism.
Kamala Harris is likely to be the new Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Elevating the vice president and putting her in the spotlight completely changed the race for the White House. In addition to the fact that in an extremely short time she managed to collect record sums in donations and become a favorite of young voters, Harris also brought to the surface a serious problem - sexism. Sexist attacks and misinformation about the potential presidential candidate flooded social networks.
Even before it became clear that Biden would withdraw, attacks on Harris by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had already begun. In early July, Trump wrote of Harris that she had run her campaigns poorly in the past, even though it emerged that he himself had donated to her campaign for California attorney general in 2011. "But that doesn't mean he isn't a "talented politician" - ask her mentor Willie Brown from San Francisco", Trump also wrote. It's a long-standing rumor that Harris only rose through her relationship with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. The two were said to have had an affair while he was still married, but in fact, Brown was long divorced by then. She and Harris do not hide that they had a relationship.
Attacks on the family and ugly suggestions about private life
For Trump, however, this is a well-thought-out strategy. The classic sexist stereotype that a woman cannot rise to a position of power without the help of a man, and often without sleeping with him in exchange for influence, works to the Republican candidate's advantage. Trump supporters have followed the former president's lead, such as political activist Laura Loomer, who wrote in X that "Republicans need to start talking about Kamala Harris’s sexual history” and the reason why she is childless, which Loomer says is that she "had so many abortions that she damaged her womb”.
The argument that Kamala Harris has no biological children is yet another sexist ploy to paint the vice president as a woman unworthy of leading the country. Trump's pick for potential vice president, JD Vance, has also previously said that "the country is run by some childless women with cats who are miserable," including Harris in that "category." The vice president actually has two stepchildren from her marriage to Douglas Emhoff. But that's not what matters - it's about humiliating women who haven't fulfilled the "mission” are about to give birth. Vance's comments provoked many women, such as actress Jennifer Aniston, who does not hide that she has reproductive problems, to react strongly.
Harris is also the face of the fight to preserve the right to abortion in the US - another reason for her to be attacked on precisely those topics that many of the Republicans on Trump's team do not like.
Kamala Harris is not a woman? False and transphobic.
Not only the quantity, but also the subject matter makes the insults against Harris different from the usual attacks that Trump and his cronies level at the former president's opponents. President Biden has also been attacked, and very harshly so, but usually the attacks focus on his age, often echoing former President Trump's nickname "Sleepy Joe". Those directed at Harris, however, usually involve sex, violence or misogynistic accusations that she is undeserving of her position. Trump has a habit of inventing "nicknames" to his opponents, but for Harris, the former president clearly can't settle on one. However, he most often calls her crazy or stupid.
Not only sexism, but also transphobia looms large behind some of the misinformation being spread about Kamala Harris - for example, that she is actually a man. This is of course not true. However, the subtext is of great importance - it is similar to all the other claims that attack Harris about her gender. The implication is that a woman can rise to such a key position in the state only if she is actually …not a woman.
A large-scale 2021 study examines the disinformation messages used against women in politics. It includes a total of over 336,000 posts shared by more than 190,000 users over a two-month period. Kamala Harris was attacked the most out of all 13 women surveyed, with a whopping 78% of all racist, transphobic and sexist misinformation narratives directed at her.
Sexism harms democracy
Kamala Harris is far from the only one facing this misinformation. In fact, all the messages are repeated and used for most women in positions of power, not only in the US, but also in Europe. About the wife of the former president of the United States, Barack Obama - Michelle, there was a whole conspiracy theory that she was actually a man. The spouse of French President Emmanuel Macron - Brigitte - was also subjected to the same procedure. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has been the subject of disinformation campaigns since she became the head of the institution, and this will probably continue during her second term in office.
One of the well-known tactics to undermine women running for political office is based on sexist narratives. The goal is to intimidate them into a defensive position where they have to explain their choices - be it who they've had relationships with, whether they have biological children, how they've come up. Questions not usually asked of male candidates. This can ultimately distort public understanding, discourage women from participating in political campaigns, and silence their and other diverse voices. Therefore, this type of misinformation not only reinforces negative attitudes towards women, but also contributes to the weakening of democracies.