Women who consider themselves to be supporters of Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are none to please with suggestions by prominent feminist Gloria Steinem and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that they are betraying their gender for not supporting Hillary Clinton.
Appearing on HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher, Steinem said that younger women, while more feminist and involved in activism than older women, were flocking to Sanders over Clinton because more boys were supporters of Sanders and they wanted to be around men.
"They're going to get more activist as they get older," Steinem said. "And when you're young, you're thinking, 'Where are the boys?' The boys are with Bernie."
Steinem later apologized for the comment on her Facebook page.
In a case of talk-show Interruptus, I misspoke on the Bill Maher show recently, and apologize for what's been...
Posted by Gloria Steinem on Sunday, February 7, 2016
The next day, Albright, speaking at a Clinton rally, said there was a "special place in hell" for women who don't help each other.
Needless to say, many Sanders supporters were not thrilled with the idea that they were somehow being a bad woman or bad feminist by not supporting Clinton, and found Albright and Steinem's remarks to be incredibly condescending.
@nytimes Oh, for god's sake, give me a break. This sort of arrogance is what is turning me off her. And I'm not even a young woman.
— Sue Bueti (@SueBueti) February 8, 2016
We are canvassing in New Hampshire for Bernie not to impress boys, but to make a difference #nothereforboys #feministsforbernie
Posted by Millennials For Bernie Sanders on Sunday, February 7, 2016
Why I’m one of the #feministsforbernie — and I won't apologize for it! https://t.co/ODpCzRnChW from @EcoSexuality pic.twitter.com/l2b1gxhvsF
— Jewish Daily Forward (@jdforward) February 8, 2016
While I'm the furthest thing from a Sanders supporter, as a woman who is involved in politics and has been involved for a long time, I'd be equally as angry as these women are if someone told me that I was only supporting a candidate in order to attract the male gaze. That's the opposite of feminist thought, and it's a sign of how desperate the Clinton camp is getting.