Kamala Harris’s candidacy to succeed Joe Biden brings out the worst in Republican misogyny, and we ain’t seen nothing yet.
I agree, it is not surprising that a woman running for president of the United States would provoke reactionary comments from the Trump clan. Especially since the current vice president is a black woman of South Asian origin, who has had a brilliant career and who has never borne children. Three absolutely terrifying elements for those who wish to preserve “the order of things”.
It’s also not surprising because J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, has made sexist comments about Harris before. In 2021, he suggested on Fox News that the United States, under Democrats, was run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable and regret their life choices, and therefore want the country to be miserable too.”
Last week, in the hours after Biden withdrew and Harris announced, that video clip resurfaced and went viral. Faced with the outcry on social media, Vance responded by playing the victim: the essence of his remarks was not captured, only the sarcasm he used. He wanted to denounce a Democratic Party that had become “anti-family” and “anti-child.”
The statements made by Trump’s running mate are despicable and must be denounced. American actress Jennifer Aniston pointed this out, and they offend women who want to carry a child but are unable to do so. Not to mention couples from the LGBTQ+ community for whom becoming parents is often a long and difficult process. Vance’s remarks also ignore the fact that Harris is the stepmother of two children in a blended family.
A choice
But her statements are also unoriginal. They fit into a widespread narrative that having a child makes all women happy and fulfilled, and that denying motherhood is a decision one will surely come to regret.
I feel this social pressure myself, in my early thirties and in a stable relationship for several years. Not having plans to start a family, in the traditional sense of the term, is still seen by many as a curiosity. “So, when will the baby be?” is a typical question to which I answer in the negative, creating a discomfort that I fully accept. Because I am a “childless cat lady” by choice.
This is the choice that Republicans want to take away from American women. The freedom to decide for their own bodies, with access to contraception and abortion in the event of an unwanted pregnancy. This conservative agenda should have us very concerned on this side of the border. Let us not make the mistake of taking our rights for granted: Invalidating the Executive Order Roe v. Wade demonstrated this resoundingly to us. Harris’ message is that women need to be trusted to make decisions about their own bodies, and I couldn’t agree more.
A country becomes miserable, to use Vance’s words, when the women who live in it are treated miserable.
Why do I want to loudly proclaim my status as a nulliparous woman? I will quote the Quebec author Sarah-Maude Beauchesne, who offers us a very personal reflection on motherhood in her book Making romance : “A woman who is not a mother is disturbing, and I want to be disturbing to serve as an example to those who do not yet dare to accept themselves, to free themselves, or even to free themselves. I want to be disturbing so that one day we will be left alone.”