Since becoming the Democratic candidate for the upcoming presidential election, Kamala Harris has been subjected to mass criticism from right-wing media platforms — not because of her policy, but because of the belief that she is a “slut.” She has been called belittling names such as “the original hawk tuah girl” by Alec Lace on FOX Business and “Cumala” by far-right British commentator Milo Yiannopoulos.
Most of their rhetoric has centered around the rumors that Harris had an affair with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown in the 1990s and broke up his marriage. Harris began her relationship with Brown in 1994, and while he was legally married, he had been estranged from his wife since 1981. Additionally, some right-wing commentators, such as Megyn Kelly, have proposed that Harris’ relationship with Brown, which ended in 1995, is the reason she was elected San Francisco district attorney in 2003. This rhetoric is harmful and inaccurate. Harris did not just become San Francisco’s district attorney — she also became California’s attorney general, a senator and then eventually vice president. Being in a relationship with a former San Francisco mayor could not have realistically gotten her all of these positions.
But, hypothetically, let’s say this was true and that she was a promiscuous woman who slept her way to the top. If this was the case, right-wing media should also be outraged at Trump for his unsavory sexual escapades. Trump has been married three times and each marriage has been subject to rumors of affairs — most famously the allegations that he cheated on his current wife, Melania Trump, with adult film actress Stormy Daniels and paid her $130,000 in hush money. More alarmingly, Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct against 26 women since the 1970s. In 2023, Trump was found liable in a civil court for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll and was ordered to pay her $5 million in restitution. Trump was born into wealth and did not need to sleep with powerful people to achieve greatness. However, it is possible he used sex to establish himself as an untouchable, domineering figure. Powerful men often seek sexual partners as a way to uphold their status and manliness and become immune to the word “no.” Therefore, when someone like Carroll or Daniels challenges their status quo, their masculinity is threatened.
Now let us say it was proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Harris slept her way to the top and that Trump was guilty of rape. Why would a sexual predator be more fit for president than someone who had consensual sex? The answer is simple — misogyny.
The patriarchal system we live under is designed to keep women down, and when a woman is able to defy the odds and succeed in a male-dominated industry, bigots will rush to find reasons as to why her achievements are either unwarranted or unfair. Most people do not actively try to uphold patriarchal values, but they have been ingrained into our subconscious minds, which is why things such as sexual prowess are celebrated in men and scorned in women.
In the case of a woman “sleeping her way to the top,” the media has created this fantasy that a woman’s sexuality is an all-powerful tool of manipulation and that men are victims of their Jezebel nature. This school of thought can be traced back to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of the Madonna-Whore complex, stating that men can not see a sexually active woman as morally virtuous.
However, this is an example of Deny, Attack and Reverse Victim and Offender rhetoric, a tactic commonly used by abusers to shift blame onto their victims. Take for instance a sexual relationship between a female assistant and a male boss. The media would see the female assistant as exploiting the boss’s resources and therefore classify her as a predatory figure. However, the boss holds institutional, financial and social power, inherently making the relationship unequal. He is in the position of authority and his power creates pressure or influence over the woman, whether or not it is explicitly acknowledged. The same could be said of a young attorney and the mayor of the city she works for. Instead of villainizing the women who fall victim to the system, we should focus on criticizing the men who not only set up but also enable the system.
Suppose we continue to normalize misogynistic rhetoric and the “sleeping her way to the top” myth. In that case, we risk it becoming even easier and more common to discredit women’s accomplishments than it already is. This is not to say that politicians like Harris are above criticism of character. When all is said and done, it is our job as citizens to scrutinize politicians and any other individuals in positions of power. One of right-wing media’s most significant failures is their refusal to criticize Trump. They often push the narrative that he is severely misunderstood and has done no wrong. There is a looming fear in Republicans about speaking out against Trump, so they deflect their disappointments with him, such as his questionable sexual history, onto the other party’s candidate rather than addressing the root of their concerns.
The belief that a presidential candidate is above criticism is not loyalty — it is a cultish mindset. When we hold our leaders accountable, we force them to make better decisions in the future. Harris is by no means a perfect person or candidate, as no politician is. She is not above criticism, but we should criticize our politician’s policies, not speculate over how many people they have slept with — because at the end of the day, it has no effect on their ability to do their job. Even things such as Trump’s affairs do not actually matter when it comes to running the country. The only sexual acts that should disqualify someone from holding office are nonconsensual ones, as this goes past the discussion of ethics and straight into criminal behavior.
Jordan Ori is a junior majoring in English and is a Pipe Dream Opinions intern.
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