The role of gender and morality in the West stems from the passages of the Bible specifically The Book of Genesis. So it's not too much of a stretch to equate the story of Eve to Mrs Hillary Clinton who is running for office. One can see many parallels between the two.
The story of Eve has has shaped many people's perception of how a woman should act or be like. Eve is a representation of elements that man should guard against. Disobedient, guileless, weak-willed, prone to temptation and evil, disloyal, untrustworthy, deceitful, seductive, and their thoughts are purely of self interest. One can see how Hillary is also perceived this way by the way the media reports her.
No matter how much Hillary has achieved in the world and in her field, the story of Eve reminds people that she is still not to be trusted. Many Christian text warn men of the follies or the ignominy of the original sin and the fall of man brought by Eve.
This perception has haunted women in all fields in a male dominated world even till today. Hillary stood by her husband in the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal/affair. Many women could not relate to her and were not on her side. Many talk show hosted by women were very vocal and received thunderous applaud when the host made remarks about how she should leave him or "kick him to the curb" , and how standing by her man was not the right thing to do at the time under the circumstance. The story of Genesis not only warns men not to trust women but also women not to trust women.
"For I do not allow woman to teach, or to exercise authority over men; but she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." (1 Timothy 2:12-14)
Hillary is challenging the male dominated world of politics. Make no mistake about it, the world of politics is a very patriarchal.The media plays an important part in reaffirming what is already ingrained in our psyche. We the people are Adam and Hillary is Eve. She is going to prevail over us. She will tempt, beguile, lure, corrupt, persuade, teach, counsel, suggest, urge, use wicked persuasion, lead us into wrongdoing, prove herself an enemy, use guile and cozening, tears and lamentations, to prevail upon Adam (or us). The predominant male news talk show hosts,from Chris Matthews to Bill O'Reily use this tactic of creating an image of Eve in Hillary. They in turn use words like the ones above to describe Eve to describe Hillary. There is a clear bias between her and the other candidates in the way she is "reported".
I am absolutely appalled by the bias the media coverage has been on Hillary. She is constantly vilified and being shown has the weaker one primarily based on her gender. I may be a Obama supporter but I want to hear what she has to say and what her plans are. Nothing is set in stone. Especially not opinions. It is to be challenged and argued with. I want a fair coverage. I want a fair playing field. To be treated like Eve when running for an important office in an important time, is simply ridiculous. Eve is after all, a fictional character. She has been used by a patriarchal society throughout history as a tool of control and oppression. It is 2008 and we are now seeing a new manifestation of Eve on our tv screens. It is not right to vilify another candidate who is also trying to set her agenda to move the country forward to not have a voice simply based on an old Biblical story.I want to hear what both sides have to say. Only then will I be able to learn, and choose a better candidate that I feel is right.
There have been many grumblings from the supporters of the other candidates who have made it clear that should she get nominated, they will vote for the other candidate even if the other candidate is the Republican candidate. This is the supporters taking on the role of Adam once again. They do not and will not be the fallen ones. They know the story. They have a wide-spread conviction that Eve tempted Adam to sin and was therefore responsible for Adam's fall. Should we be tempted by this character of Eve?
Are we that fickle?
In the story of Genesis, Eve is perceived to be created as an afterthought. A solution to a failed experiment. Concerned that man was alone and lonely in the garden of Eden, God decided to make a "helper fit for him" and brought before him "every beast of the field and every bird of the air." She was created from one of Adam's rib. Ever since then, she has been a subordinate to him, a helper created specifically for him. A few months ago, Hillary made the case that both her and Obama could run as a "dream team" ticket. Hillary as President and Obama as VP. The backlash was quick and fast. How dare she!. Many people felt that the right way was to have Obama, the man, in the front and her as a woman as the second. In a news interview of the man on the street, this woman said it best. " it doesn't even look right". Yes, the image of a woman Presidential candidate and her male counterpart as the VP, does not sound right. The psyche of Eve being the subordinate is so ingrained in us, that the image follows us even to the highest office of the land.
