Star Lee Mae Clinger

English 5 Section 70
Instructor: Anya Connelly
August 3, 2016
Political Feminism
TOPIC: Feminism in the Political System of the 2016 Election
POSSIBLE RESEARCH QUESTION: What role does Feminism play in the political system
of the 2016 United States Presidential Election?
1. A Discussion of the topic (broad focus)
My topic is in regards to Feminism in the Political system, therefore, before we can delve
into the topic, we must have a clear understanding of the term Feminism. Feminism is highly
mistaken as a women over men complex, and this is incorrect. The correct definition of
Feminism is the advocacy of womens rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic
equality to men, or as Betsy Reed states, at the core, Feminism is a cause of gender equality
(Pollitt 59). In our society, there is a high misconception of what Feminism truly is and this
Periodical helps to elaborate on what it is and how it relates and/or is incorporated into the
Political system. As the discussion begins, Pollitt argues that, by narrowly defining what counts
as a Feminist topic, the liberal left pushed women into a corner and helped produce the very
thing it most deploresidentity politics (56). This is quote is significant to the roles that
Feminism plays into the Political system. This one quote demonstrates how one of the Political
parties, the liberal left had pushed the Feminist population to one side. Now, identity politics,
what is that? Identity politics is defined as inclination for people who share similar aspects,
whether it be ethnicity based, religiously based, and so on, to form political alliances and diverge

from the traditional broad-based party politics. This shows that when Feminist related ideas are
thrown into debate for political equality, they are pushed to the side and those who support those
ideologies form alliances and go against the popular sovereignty. This is important to the issue
of Feminism within the United States Political System because it shows how ideas of gender
equality are thrown aside rather than put on stand and considered. Many people fear that
including women in the Political System will change the system.
2. An indication of your specific focus (narrow focus)
To narrow the focus of my topic, I will be addressing how and what roles Feminism is
playing in the Political system of the 2016 United States Presidential Election. In her periodical,
Feminism at the Polls, Liza Featherstone illuminates the fact that social Feminism is a
prominent aspect of the 2016 election. This is shown when she says yet the primary seasons
most startling facet has been the sudden salience of both socialism and Feminism (Featherstone
35). This is a significant aspect in this years election because we have a female democratic
presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, former first lady of the United States, and she has
illuminated the idea of Feminism by putting herself at an equal playing field with the men in the
highest authority position we have in the United States, as the President. Featherstone points out
that, although female voters may not want the same ideals as Hillary Clinton, they would vote for
her because she was the Feminist choice and they wanted gender equality (36). This is a
significant aspect that we need to consider, is Hillary Clinton the best choice because she is the
Feminist choice? This election has raised many questions for those who are not in full support of
either of the presidential candidates in this years election. Who will they pick? How will they
make their choice? As from above we can see that many will be voting for Hillary Clinton
because she is the Feminist choice, but are there other reasons? Will republican voters vote for

her because she is the Feminist choice? Will democratic voters vote against her because they do
not agree with her ideologies or her proposals as President of the United States? This election
year has raised many puzzling questions and all of these questions, and more, need to be
considered when addressing who voters want to be their next president.
3. An explanation of why youre interested in the topic and Tentative Thesis
I have been called a Feminist many times before, always with that negative undertone
and, it got me thinking, how is Feminism playing into our lives at this exact moment? Feminism
is a key component to the way that our lives are formed, do we see men and women as equals?
Or do we believe that one gender is superior to the other? These are questions we need to ask in
order to determine if Feminism is at play and, if not, how can we bring light to it? How is it
portrayed within our Political System? How may it have been influenced with a woman, Hillary
Clinton, running for president in the 2016 election year? I have always promoted the idea of total
equality, so I guess thats why people call me a Feminist, that and the fact that I am female, but
they should acknowledge that females are not the only Feminists in this world. Feminism is the
want for total gender equality, not one gender above another as it is often misconceived. With
this being said, it is easy to see how Feminists arent just female, men can promote the idea of
Feminism and equal rights too. I read a joke the other day that proved a really big point within
our society and exemplifies why we need Feminism within our political system. It goes as
follows: How many Feminists does it take to change a lightbulb? Trick questions: Feminists
cant change anything. A female commented on the post saying: How many misogynists does
it take to change a lightbulb? Trick question: Men wont change anything that can bring light
to a situation. This is very true within our political system because many people dont want to
vote for Hillary Clinton because she is a female and they fear that having a female in the

Presidential chair will change the foundation of the nation. Maybe it will, but we need to be open
to change because it can be better.
Tentative Thesis: Feminism has a strong role within the political parties of the 2016 United
States Presidential Election because there is finally a female candidate, Hillary Clinton, proving
that men and women are equal in all aspects of life.
4. My Research Plan
I plan to delve more into my topic, addressing more sources if I can find ones that are useful and
pertain to the subject matter at hand. The two sources I have found already show impeccable
abilities to allow me to address my broad focus, Pollitt, as well as my narrow focus,
Featherstone. I have found information in both of these periodicals that make them sufficient
evidence for my argument. However, I believe that a few more sources may be the little helping
hand I need to push my research paper to the top. To obtain these new, helpful sources, I will
browse through Sacramento States Library Database. This database allows me to search for a
very narrow and defined topic as well as a very broad topic, allowing me to get all of the
background information and all of the pinpointed information necessary to create an outstanding
research paper. I will begin my paper with expressing my interest in the topic of Feminism and
my experience that follows it. I will also explain what Feminism means and how it is important
to our developing society. I have been advised that a nice touch would be to interview people to
understand how others view Feminism and whether or not they believe that it is an important
component within society. I will then begin to explore the ways in which Feminism plays a role
in politics and follow that by explaining the role that it plays in the 2016 United States
Presidential Election, illuminating the ways that Hillary Clinton has embodied Feminism.

Works Cited
Featherstone, Liza. Periodical. Feminism at the Polls. Dissent, University of
Pennsylvania Press. 2016: Print.
Pollitt, Katha, Betsy Reed. Periodical. The Nation and The Nation: Spreading Feminism
Far and Wide. Nation Company, L. P. 6 April 2015: Print.