The time I played the ‘woman card’

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Dear Donald Trump, Bob Sutton and that late night C-SPAN caller who said “25 percent of women are only voting for Hillary because she is a woman,”

This week I had the pleasure of hearing you all comment on Hillary Clinton’s shameless use of the women’s card. After careful reflection, I have a confession to make: I have also used this all powerful card.

I began my immoral use of my own women’s card in elementary school where I bartered it to earn compliments from the teacher that were just never offered to my male counterparts. These compliments included such praise as being called “bossy” and “overbearing.”

These advantages have only followed me into high school where I have had the coincidental luck of taking upper-level male dominated classes (some with a 1 to 5 female to male ratio).

I have even had the unique chance as a women to celebrate my history by watching a collection of squabbling juveniles, also known as politicians, complain about my gender’s audacity to find itself on the $20 bill and with increasing access to health care.  

To Trump I will say — I am sorry that Clinton and I had the audacity to be born female, and I am even more sorry that you have met with a woman you may not be able to control.

However, you, Mr. Trump, can rest easy knowing that you have at least made me, and many other young girls, realize women’s unequal advantages. After all, if us women had been allowed to continue to live in our blissful bubbles of privilege, more of us may have had the audacity to run for President and use our exclusive card to garner attacks on our insufficient  looks, apparent lack of strength and off-putting tone of voice.

In reality, perhaps the only bad thing about the women’s card is that, to some, it is only worth 79 percent of that man’s card of yours.

Sincerely,

Claire Dinshaw

P.S. Thank you to all men who have tried to correct my political decision to support Clinton. But, it did occur to me that maybe you are only voting for your candidate because he is a man? Just a thought.