When Vice President Kamala Harris wears Tiffany and Co. pearl earrings, she’s criticized for being out of touch with America. When former president Donald Trump wears suits that cost anywhere from $6,000 to $14,000, he’s seen as iconic. 

Gender-based discrimination in political spaces has been an issue for years, dating back to the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and even further. However, sexism reared its ugly head the highest for the first time in the 2016 election. 

Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign for president brought her lots of backlash, most of which often manifested itself in the form of one word: “bitch.” “Trump that Bitch” was a slogan often proudly displayed on everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs. The demeaning of Clinton to little more than a dog was an unfortunate side-effect of her campaign. 

And it revolved completely around her being a woman.

When viewing the 2024 presidential candidates, it is impossible to not take a look at one of the key things that divides them and their campaigns; their gender. The disgusting behaviors that plagued Clinton in her campaign have come back to haunt Harris.

Her lack of biological children is one of the things that have been held against the presidential candidate. Harris was criticized by the governor of Arkansas, who said Harris was unable to be humble due to her lack of biological children.

Claims from some conservative commentators about how Harris rose in the political sphere say she “slept her way to the top.” 

Fox News Host Jesse Watters commented that the generals in the Situation Room would “have their way with [Harris].”

Trump himself has done things such as reposting disgusting sexual remarks about Harris on his social media platform, Truth Social. 

People online continually obsess over the prices and types of clothes Harris wears while not once blinking an eye at the repeated, expensive suits and watches Trump wears. 

Clinton and Harris’s campaigns have shown not just the worst side of Republicans, but the worst side of men in the modern era. It’s an almost proud display of disrespect and hatred for people whose only crime is being a woman. 

With the constant sexist behavior towards these, and many other women in politics, it must be asked– what does this show to future generations?

Do we as a society want young children to think it’s okay to proudly display signs saying “Trump that Bitch” in their yards? Do we want the next generation to think it’s okay to demean a woman’s entire career by saying she “slept her way to the top”? 

The fear of the unknown is often a defense for people who are against these women in power, however that cannot be an excuse. There have been numerous female presidents, prime ministers, and other various chief executives across the entire world. The world kept spinning, even with these women at the helm. Women are leaders around the world, yet some Americans act as if that idea is asinine. 

Another fear of having America’s first female president is a fear of what comes next for her. How will the country react to having a woman in such a powerful position? Will the onslaught of sexism she faces only become worse as she guides the nation? Will her every movement be criticized simply because she wore the wrong pair of shoes that day?

At the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter what type of earrings she’s wearing. It shouldn’t matter that she chose to put on an expensive necklace she bought with her own money. It shouldn’t matter whether she wears dresses or suits, heels or flats, glossy or matte lips. None of it matters. 

What matters are her goals for the country. Her policies matter. Her ambition, her knowledge, all of that matters so much more than whatever she decides to wear on that particular day. They matter so much more than the fact that she is a woman.

If you’re going to criticize Harris, criticize her for things that relate to her policies. Criticize her for her platforms. But don’t criticize her for the one thing that she has no control over; her gender. Have enough respect to see her for what she is: a human being.

Commentary Writer Emma Hardesty can be reached at [email protected].