fbpx

Watching the Vice Presidential Debate as a Woman

[additional-authors]
October 9, 2020
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – OCTOBER 06: The 2020 vice presidential debate hall at Kingsbury Hall of the University of Utah (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

If you watched the vice presidential debate this week, you might have reached a different conclusion than your neighbor as to who won. No, I’m not just talking about political parties. Perceptions of the debate were deeply divided by gender. According to a post-debate CNN poll, 69% of women thought Senator Kamala Harris won the debate. Among men, however, only 48% thought Harris won.

Why this stark gender gap in perception? As a woman, I recognized something that others may have missed — my day-to-day life:

When I watched Vice President Mike Pence explain Harris’ record to her, I instantly recalled one of the first sessions I attended in college, when my small group had to answer a series of questions about the assigned readings. Sheepishly, three out of the five members of my group admitted that they didn’t do the readings. So I took out the notes I’d scribbled from the textbook and helped my classmates write responses. To my dismay, one of my male classmates kept challenging my answers, despite the fact that he had not done the reading.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – OCTOBER 07: Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) participates in the vice presidential debate against U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at the University of Utah. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

When I heard Harris’ even tone and saw her consistent smile, I recognized, instantly, a woman who had practiced being “likable.” I remembered Secretary Hillary Clinton, who was lambasted for not being “warm enough.” I saw me, the first time I ran for an elected position in high school. I was told that I sounded too intense, too serious, too passionate. I was told that I didn’t smile enough.

When I saw Pence go over his allotted time and interrupt Harris, I recalled the meetings I had been in where I had been afraid to speak up; afraid that I was wasting people’s time; afraid to take up space; afraid to be interrupted and that I would stumble over my own words. I recalled all the people who’ve called me bossy for being competent. A know-it-all for being intelligent.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – OCTOBER 07: U.S. Vice President Mike Pence debates Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) at the University of Utah. (Photo by Morry Gash-Pool/Getty Images)

But when Harris asked the moderator for equal time, I wanted to cry. Here was a woman asking for the same amount of time as her opponent — and was granted it (Harris and Pence ended up speaking for roughly the same amount of time). Here was a woman knowing and demanding her worth be recognized. Here was a version of me that I could become.

Here was a version of me that I could become.

Watching that debate went beyond politics for me. It didn’t matter that the woman onstage was a Republican or a Democrat. What mattered was that I saw a nearly universal experience for women play out onstage. But this time, the woman did not shy away. She stood her ground.

So too, I hope, will others.


Ari Berman is an op-ed editor at the Journal. She previously was the assistant editor at Foreign Affairs.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Print Issue: Got College? | Mar 29, 2024

With the alarming rise in antisemitism across many college campuses, choosing where to apply has become more complicated for Jewish high school seniors. Some are even looking at Israel.

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.