The XX Factor: Slate women blog about politics, etc...

Gender and Experience, Again

Like you, Emily, I've been trying to figure out how Hillary pulled off the feat of becoming the candidate of the non-elite. How did she conquer the social condescension that, as Jeff Greenfield's smart piece points out, Orwell diagnosed as an occupational hazard of high-minded liberals? Much as I hesitate to play the gender card again, I think maybe the secret lies in sex—and age. Yes, Clinton went to Wellesley and to Yale Law School, and people in Arkansas felt she put on airs. Back in the '90s, people in D.C.—and across the country—joined in finding her a snooty and patronizing reformer, and what efforts she made to tone it down convinced nobody. Here's what has changed. She was younger then—her White House years began when she was Obama's current age. She's a postmenopausal woman now. As a credential for membership in (or at least solidarity with) the non-elite, hormonal shifts fit the bill—certainly when the candidate in question is up against a vigorous, handsome young guy whose upward trajectory shows no signs of slowing. I could riff some more about how the post-fertile identity alters a woman's social status, how menopause is about coping with change that isn't chosen—is beyond one's control—and how that might speak to those who feel unprivileged, as though perks have passed them by. Or is this ridiculous?