The 2016 election has been a cutthroat one, with people tearing each other down for their personal beliefs and not their policies, or demanding to know if someone was born in the U.S. (again). These things cause more important things to be ignored, like scandals or the fact that some policies simply won’t work in the U.S. The media hasn’t been exactly helpful with its coverage either, with their complete favoritism towards a certain party or candidate and the hosts’ personal connections to the candidates and their bank accounts. However, individuals still have the ability to watch, listen, and choose the candidate they will vote for in the primaries and inevitably in the 2016 election on their own.

It seems, though, that Hillary Clinton and her special guests think otherwise in the case of women. Woman don’t have the choice to look at each candidate and see if their policies are what they agree with, they don’t get to judge based on logic or fact. No. For women, the election is about supporting other women no matter what that candidate’s agenda might be.

During one of Clinton’s campaign rallies in New Hampshire, she invited former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to introduce her. Albright took the opportunity to repeat one of her phrases that must make so many cringe: “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other!” While you would expect a candidate who talks about defending women’s rights and their political actions to speak up and say that women can choose whomever they would like to vote for, Clinton simply laughed and continued to let Albright speak.

Clinton learned from her failure to address gender issues in her 2008 campaign for president and has decided to make it the focus of her 2016 campaign, but her execution is flawed. Clinton and Albright are dismissing women as a force made of powerful and intelligent individuals who can make their own choices. They demand that women vote for Clinton because that’s apparently what women are meant to do, so sit down and go and vote for Clinton like you’re supposed to. Otherwise, you’re apparently a disgrace to your own gender and you should be ashamed of yourself. They ignore the fact that every woman who will vote has different opinions, ideas, and solutions because grouping people together and creating a guilt-complex is easier than talking about policy and why she deserves women’s votes.

Clinton is losing a large percentage of Democratic votes to Bernie Sanders, including young women, so saying that you don’t support your fellow woman if you don’t vote for Clinton and that you aren’t a feminist and you’re going to hell is supposedly an easy way to get them. She is taking away the feeling of being free to vote for who you want, because you apparently owe your gender devotion, no matter the circumstances. This sense of entitlement from a candidate to any minority they belong to has been present for years in any political position; they make you feel as if you are betraying your group because they place social reasons above logical ones and make you feel as guilty as possible until you feel like you have to vote for them. It’s guilt-tripping at it’s finest and worst.
Clinton preaches about being the first woman president, but does that mean women have to vote for her? Why should gender be the deciding factor- or the only factor- in someone’s vote, especially fellow women? Should they not look at Clinton’s policies and past political experience in order to judge whether or not she is capable of being president? Should they not be skeptical of Clinton lying to the public during her time as Secretary of State when she said she entered foreign territory under sniper fire, but footage proved that it was a peaceful landing? Should they not question Clinton’s honesty due to her email scandal, where she chose to have her own private server that contained top secret government information? But most insultingly, should they not be offended that one of the main reasons Clinton expects women to vote for her is simply because of her gender?

She tries to run on other things, such as her experience in politics: she was a lawyer, First Lady, a senator, and then Secretary of State. However, when she mentions women it always seems to be the same point: I am a woman, and women should vote for me because I am a woman who will be the first female president because I am a woman, so vote for me, my fellow women, because I, a woman, am running for president, which would make me the first female president as a woman.

To women voters everywhere, especially new or young voters: don’t let a candidate manipulate you and the process of your vote. It’s understandable that a woman president is wanted after years and years of men, but don’t sacrifice your common sense, logic, and free will to make history. If you’re voting for Clinton because you agree with her policies and what she stands for, go for it, but consider everything before you make a decision that can affect who is running the country. Gender should not be a deciding factor in this race. Women are equal to men, and women don’t want gender to define them, so we cannot allow a candidate to use their gender as a way to manipulate others into voting for them. Voting isn’t about ‘firsts’, making history, or choosing who you see the most of on the new or the Internet, it’s about choosing the person who aligns with your own political opinions and who will represent the country and its values the best.