Post-Election Thoughts (Part I)

I know it's clearly past the election and the dust has more or less settled, but in the course of the past far too many months... heck, probably even years since it's felt like people have been campaigning for an eternity... I have been thoroughly annoyed with so many different aspects of politics. That's as a woman, as a person with interests in politics, and in many different ways. The way in which different parts of the election were covered and the questions directed at me regarding it were just kind of ridiculous... and I almost don't even know where to begin.

Okay, I think I'll start with the point that is perhaps the most annoying for me. I think I should put a disclaimer before this though: I know the issue of abortion is an important one. I recognize why it is important and I very much agree that it is important. All of that said, I'm tired of that being the only question I get asked about as it relates to politics. I don't know if people assume that because I have ovaries and a vagina and all of that good stuff that it's the only issue I'm allowed to care about or what. Even when I've tried to steer the conversation toward something more general, somehow it always comes back to "yeah, but this candidate doesn't support abortion" or "yeah, but this candidate does support abortion." Guess what? I probably already knew that. It doesn't take too much work to research a candidate's platform on various issues. Even then, why should I limit my discussions to merely one issue? I was offended many times by people reducing my opinion to simply that question. I don't vote with my vagina. I vote with my head and really think through my decisions. Yes, abortion is an issue that we all need to discuss and worry about, but it's not the only issue. With people losing their homes and jobs, there are other things at stake.

Another "voting with my vagina" moment seems to come with ignorant people assuming that a woman would vote for Sarah Palin just because she's a woman. It's the same thing as when people were complaining about people voting for Hillary Clinton. Why can't people distinguish the difference between someone saying that they're excited to see women involved in this level of politics and actually saying they're going to vote for them? I would never vote for someone just because they were the same gender as I am, but at the same time I feel completely justified in saying that I think it's amazing and I am so proud that women have finally come so far that they're being put in this spotlight. True, women have run for President and Vice President before, but not with this kind of spotlight. Not with this kind of pressure on them. Women are finally being recognized for the amazing people they are, and to diminish that merely because people can't handle it is ridiculous. Why is it that the only reason I would vote for these women is because they're women? They have platforms. They have beliefs and hopes and desires. They want to help make America better in their own ways, so why are people simplifying them down to their anatomy? I would never think to suggest someone is supporting a candidate and ignoring these women merely because the only candidates are men... why is it okay to question me in this way?