Be an example for girls

By Elizabeth Souder

The Dallas Morning News

On the evening of Nov. 7, I hugged my nearly 5-year-old daughter, Ruby, and whispered in her ear: “I’m going to vote for a girl president tomorrow.”

Ruby bounced up: “I want to be a girl president, too!” Then she listed all the other things she wants to be: firefighter, doctor, teacher and a situation that sounded a lot like an unemployed artist living in my spare bedroom.

I said, Ruby, you can be anything you want.

But of course I knew, even before the election, that wasn’t true. She can’t be the pope or an NFL football player, and, let’s be honest, it’s hardly likely she could be the chief executive of Exxon. By Tuesday night, I wondered if she could even become president.

During the presidential campaign, we saw a woman who stood up for herself when she was mocked and abused. We saw a woman who was so well-prepared and capable, that she never got flustered during a debate, never got emotional or relented. We saw a woman who simply batted away the taunts that reminded so many women of the jeers we’d put up with our entire lives.

And yes, we saw a woman who had made disappointing mistakes with an email server, who had struggled through a humiliating marriage that many women would have left long ago, and who had been enjoying the fruits of the celebrity speaking circuit. A flawed woman, for sure.

Unfairly abused

Still, we thought the rest of the country had Hillary Clinton’s back when she was unfairly abused, and we thought, by extension, the country had our backs. We thought this country was ready to recognize the myriad threats, large and micro, that women face every day, and to help us put them at bay.

Naive, yes. But I think we can be forgiven for making these assumptions, because as Donald Trump flailed when confronted by the idea of a woman as his equal, American women were making strides in equality.

This year, the U.S. military began opening combat roles to women. Female television writers wrote some of the most popular shows ever, and female comedians proved to be as successful (and as funny) as men at hosting their own late-night shows. A female musician, Alicia Keys, stopped wearing make-up. Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets is led by a woman for the second time. (The first time was last year.)

And even though Clinton lost, women didn’t lose ground in national races. New Hampshire will even send an all-female delegation to Washington. And women of color made gains, with Nevada, for example, electing the first Latina U.S. senator.

“Now, I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling. But someday, someone will, and hopefully sooner than we might think right now,” Clinton said in her concession speech. “And to all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.”

Clinton was an example to many women of facing harassment, misogyny, hate and anger from a position of strength.

As many of us took her lead, and tried it ourselves, we gained the wisdom that comes from confronting the things we fear. Now, we can be the example to other women and girls.

Maybe our daughters won’t need a Hillary Clinton, because they will have all of us.

Elizabeth Souder is the assistant editorial page editor for The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.