How do you really feel about Joe Biden saying his VP pick will be a black woman?

submitted by medium_tomato from (self.GenderCritical)

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[–]Terfenclaw 31 insightful - 1 fun31 insightful - 0 fun32 insightful - 1 fun -  (9 children)

It's performative, like most politics. That said, I do like the idea of having more black women in positions of power. I'm pretty sure you could argue that many men benefit from being white and male in order to get into positions of power. Why get angry when a single black woman gets a similar benefit in an extremely limited position?

[–]RevengeOfTheCis 27 insightful - 1 fun27 insightful - 0 fun28 insightful - 1 fun -  (8 children)

I agree. Literally millions of jobs have gone to white men because they were white men. Hell, it was the fucking LAW for a significant part of history. The only thing stupid about what Biden is doing is specifically announcing it. Couldn't he have just picked a black woman without saying he was going to? Now he's put a target on her back for men to claim she didn't get the position based on merit. Those men will, of course, omit the fact that millions of white men have benefited from being the only ones eligible for certain jobs for god knows how long, regardless of whether other people had more "merit".

[–]medium_tomato[S] 15 insightful - 2 fun15 insightful - 1 fun16 insightful - 2 fun -  (7 children)

Ok but whoever she is, it IS true that she isn't getting the position due to merit. Because of the history of politics, we have a huge amount of men in politics an a tiny percentage of women. Even tinier is black women. I dont want a stupid pandering interchangeable woman. I want a woman who is smart, capable, and is someone to actually look up to. The pool is far too small here, so that's why I am insulted. If we had like 50% men 50% women in politics, and like 50% of those women were black, then okay MAYBE I can be okay with this kind of pick, but he is literally picking someone purely on biology and skin color, that's like 1%, political views and experience be damned. I just can't support this at all...

Women are fucking capable. I don't want this pathetic infantalization of "ooh lets pick a woman so the little women will be happy and mindlessly vote for me". There is no such thing as the female vote. We are all different, and we can disagree even on this kind of specific sub.

[–][deleted] 26 insightful - 1 fun26 insightful - 0 fun27 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

None of the VPs get their position by merit. If Mike Pence becomes president because Trump choked on some overcooked meat, you won’t be here writing walls of text saying he didn’t get it by merit. It’s only debatable when it involves women. Highly disappointing seeing this here in a women centric space.

[–]OrneryStruggle 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The problem is that other people who don't get their jobs based on merit at least give the impression that they did. When people see women getting positions BECAUSE they are women it undercuts all the women getting those positions "normally" (even if the normal way is nepotism etc.) in the eyes of the public and discourages girls from trying to actually achieve things in the future.

I know this is not a popular opinion among radfems but I don't like the implications of wanting to select a female politician from available female candidates simply because she is female. I don't think it will be good for women in the long run.

I also think that whoever Biden picks as VP is likely to be barely more competent than Biden himself, which will be an optics disaster if it ends up being a minority woman. No one remotely intelligent would be associating themselves with Biden.

[–][deleted] 12 insightful - 1 fun12 insightful - 0 fun13 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

None of the VPs get their position by merit. If Mike Pence becomes president because Trump choked on some overcooked meat, you won’t be here writing walls of text saying he didn’t get it by merit. It’s only debatable when it involves women. Highly disappointing seeing this here in a women centric space.

[–]Terfenclaw 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

So... Are you suggesting that the black women already in politics are not hard working or qualified?

Would you even care if he had said he was choosing a "woman" or a "white woman" as opposed to a "black woman?"

[–]medium_tomato[S] 4 insightful - 3 fun4 insightful - 2 fun5 insightful - 3 fun -  (1 child)

I actually would have cared very much if it was just woman or white woman. Tbh that is my primary concern, the black thing is just kinda the cherry on top. It's super pathetic to me how he is trying to use a black woman to get him the "black vote" and the "female vote". Like I feel it would be even more demeaning to me if I was black in a way, or if he said he wanted a woman of my actual specific ethnicity.

I don't think that the 2 or 3 black women already in politics aren't hard working or qualified. I think it's just sad that their qualifications are being reduced to their race and sex, not even their stances.. don't you find that at least a little bit demeaning? I would very much support a black VP pick if it was between her and a bunch of others, but just..this way feels super gross.

[–]Terfenclaw 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

2 or 3? That's incredibly dismissive of the many black women in politics. There are way more than that in the House and hundreds more in state legislatures.

I don't find it demeaning. I find it jaded and calculating, like I find most of politics. VP picks are meant to do one thing, and that's to broaden the candidate's appeal. A black woman is a good choice for that because dems absolutely need the black vote. Biden was dumb as hell for announcing it though. You're not supposed to say the silent part out loud in politics.

the black thing is just kinda the cherry on top

You're showing yourself here.

[–]Amareldys 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

VPs are always chosen to court voters who are on the fence about the candidate, and to bring them solidly into the fold.