It's a good cartoon, Courtney--even in the eyes of us Clinton supporters who get shamed all the time by the Obama ilk.

Wow. Will you "shamed" Obama supporters want the votes of my "ilk" if Obama wins in November?

How do you figure Obama supporters are any more "shamed" than Clinton supporters? Read the misogyny on every non-feminist blog, lately?

That should say if Obama is "the ballot choice" in November.

If he is "the ballot choice," I do want him to also be the winner.

I think your post is a bit inflammatory for no good reason. The comic is funny.

wow, you all took that a bit too seriously. No one is saying who is "more shamed." Sometimes a joke can just be, well, a joke.

A joke is hardly ever "just a joke"

The political cartoon, ok, but "clinton ilk"? I'd actually like an apology.

"Ilk"? Seriously?

What site am I on again?

Ilk simply means "family, class, or kind." If there is some other connotation I'm not aware of, I apologize.

As far as "shaming" goes, I do think that there has been some shaming, particularly on the parts of older feminists like Robin Morgan, towards younger feminists who want to vote for Obama. That's as far as this cartoon goes. It doesn't address shaming by the non-feminist blogosphere. It doesn't talk about the ballot or November.

Laugh people. It feels good.

Wow. I totally expect better from a feminist site.

Seriously? Because Clinton supporters haven't been told we're out or touch, elitist, too conservative, and perhaps even a little bit racist?

I'm definitely not looking to turn this into a game of who has been shamed worse, but this kind of thing only makes it all worse.

While I am an Obama supporter, and I'm not a a fan of the recent tactics of the Clinton campaign, I much prefer to see more actual discussion of the campaign from a feminist perspective.

This strikes me as simply shaming back, and not particularly funny. At least to me, the mother comes of as clueless and dictatorial for trying to control the daughter's politics. While I'm arguably reading too much into it, dissecting the messages in media is very much the point here.

In any case, it's not nearly as funny as the comment that it's just a joke, and people are taking things too seriously. 'Cause you know, clearly feminists lack a sense of humor.

I hear you Jae. I certainly don't feel that way about Clinton supporters (I feel like I am one, though I did pull the lever for Obama in the primaries). Good to be informed that some Clinton supporters feel that way, however. I'll try to be more sensitive, though I still think that this seemingly neverending primary season demands a major injection of humor. I'm sorry if this struck some people as crossing the line.

I've been told more than once by friends that I've betrayed feminism by supporting Obama over Clinton and now have to avoid talking politics altogether with my Clinton supporting friends/family members. So the word shamed is certainly apropos from my end.

I was actually happy to see this posted and thought it was a succinct representation of the sort of disconnect that has occurred between women this political season. After hearing how confused, naive, ignorant, and racist I am for choosing to cast my ballot for a man who happens to represent my interests, I think the cartoon is a light hearted look at the way that some are trying to declare that there is only one way to be a conscious feminist woman and that way is a ballot for Clinton. (I know Clinton supporters who don't do this and respect my choice, as well as some who don't but I am not trying to cast aspersions on the entire group).

This cartoon seems to be saying that Hillary supporters are all just a bunch of older overbearing women while Obama supporters are just too young and hip. Haven't we heard this stereotype before?

This just seems like more evidence of the media bias for Obama and against Clinton, especially with all recent attacks directed at her for getting out of the race.

Well I've been shamed for daring to vote for Clinton whilst in possession of a vagina.

Soooo...

Hm... Well, I'm a Clinton supporter, and I have to admit that the cartoon made me smile, even if I didn't love how it was presented in this post. It's a simplification of what it's been feeling like sometimes - like supporting Clinton is somehow making me feel older than I actually am. And I don't even fit into the cartoon in my mind. Gen X has been feeling like a really X place to be lately.

My comment appears to have been eaten. I didn't get a moderation message.

Since Clinton supporters have been shamed by every group OTHER than older feminists, I think a little more sympathy is in order. We're all feeling beat up this primary season. More finger pointing isn't really funny to many of us.

A lot of the older feminists who felt the need to stand up for themselves did so because so many people were dismissing them as, well, old feminists. The obsolete second wave. I don't agree with how some of the more prominant women did so, but the disrespect shouldn't be ignored and more of the same isn't helping.

I love Ann Telnaes.

I just find it interesting that once again it is the Clinton supporters that are seen as negative. It's easy to pick onor portray the 'older?' women as being negative. Are people blind to the hostility of Obama supporters on the net?

dedf, How do you know these are "all Clinton" supporters who are pointing at the post as a negative. I didn't vote for Clinton, yet I can see the obvious media bias everywhere I turn. Plus, I know plenty of people who support Obama that are just as sick of the unfair coverage as well. Not everyone who sees this as a negative is "automatically" a Clinton supporter, I think they are just calling it like it is.

Some Second Wavers have been in the news "shaming" Obama-voting young feminists, but other than that, I have witnessed almost no shaming of Obama voters. Clinton supporters, on the other hand, are constantly harrassed and belittled in all aspects of their lives (and, as SarahMC points out, accused of voting with their vaginas). Haven't you noticed? Voting for Obama is "cool"; voting for Clinton is not. By posting crap like this, you're validating the idea that only bullying, out-of-touch old ladies support Clinton. I'm sad to see this on Feministing.

I saw this yesterday on Women's eNews and thought it was great. It really represents some of the division going on during this election. Also I could hear my mother saying this but she would not be serious about it she would be teasing so that is how I read the cartoon. I am sorry some don't feel this way toward this little comic.

I saw this yesterday on Women's eNews and thought it was great. It really represents some of the division going on during this election. Also I could hear my mother saying this but she would not be serious about it she would be teasing so that is how I read the cartoon. I am sorry some don't feel this way toward this little comic.

Kittenfluff, you're "constantly harassed and belittled" for choosing Clinton but Obama supporters are clearly only voting for him because it's "cool." Pot, meet kettle.

meeneecat: "How do you know these are "all Clinton" supporters who are pointing at the post as a negative. "

I think you took my statement as saying I thought only clinton supporters on this site are negative about the post, which is not what I meant.

I meant in general anytime you hear of the term clinton supporter, it is portrayed that they are negative or attacking when it is not true.

Blitzgal, not really. Obama supporters are being congratulated (for being cool), not shamed.

dedf, aaaah, got it, seems like I'm frequently misunderstanding people these days.

I saw this yesterday on Women's eNews and thought it was great. It really represents some of the division going on during this election. Also I could hear my mother saying this but she would not be serious about it; she would be teasing so that is how I read the cartoon. I am sorry some don't feel this way toward this little comic.

meeneecat, no problem...I would rather someone question a statement I make rather than leave with a misunderstanding.

Blitzgal, I wasn't meaning to suggest that. Plenty of Obama supporters have valid reasons to support him, just as I'm sure there are many Clinton supporters who really *are* voting for her only because she's female, or for other dubious reasons. It has just been my experience that more Clinton supporters are being shamed by Obama supporters than the other way around.

"Obama supporters are being congratulated (for being cool), not shamed."

My point was with that sentence Kittenfluff employed the very same tactic that you are accusing Obama supporters of using against you. (Clinton supporters are voting due to gender, Obama voters are just following the trend) I have very specific reasons for not supporting Clinton as I'm sure you also have very specific reasons for choosing her. I haven't cast aspersions on the intelligence of anyone who supports Clinton, but the "cool" comment certainly casts aspersions on the intelligence of Obama voters.

I guess if congratulated means being accused of being too stupid, too naive, too anti-feminist, and supposedly voting about race instead of gender which really matters, I guess that's so. I've been congratulated a lot lately. Supporters of both democratic candidates have been getting blasted with assaults on their character, motivation, and commitment to real social change. I wish we were asking ourselves why we're cutting our collective noses off to spite our face instead of pointing the finger at each other as the source of our persecution. It is obvious that everyone in this thread has had a different experience in regards to having their political choices critiqued , and most of us feel attacked by the other side. However, I am afraid it's turning into an exercise in proclaiming the other side the recipient of favored status in the media and therefore the feelings of those supporters regarding being shamed are somehow invalid.

Courtney, you seriously were unaware that Clinton supporters are harassed, accused of racism, voting only with their vaginas, etc?

Do you even read the posts and comments on feministing?

Yeah, there definitely is a negative connotation to the word "ilk" as there is to "kind" - "We don't want your kind/ilk around here", as an example. It's divisive AND dismissive. Was that really not what you intended when you posted a cartoon making fun of women who support Hillary Clinton and then identified them as one single homogeneous group or "ilk"?

And then... you tell people upset about it to just laugh because it's a joke?

That is just wrong. I'm actually really sad and hurt that this would happen here. It's not like this happened from the comments. You run this blog.

I too was surprised to see such a strong negative reaction to the cartoon. I smiled when I saw it and I certainly didn’t think of it as yet another example of Clinton bashing. I don’t think there’s any denying that this election has exposed some of the generational rifts in the feminist movement (and the civil rights movement). That’s not to say that Clinton supporters are all old and out of touch, but rather that a lot of younger women don’t see their reality in the thinking or the tactics of second wave feminists.

When I saw this cartoon, I thought of the recent writings by Gloria Steinem and Robin Morgan. If you look at the civil rights movement, you can see a similar shift going on. Leaders like Rev. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton don’t hold the prominence they did before. It’s not that racism and sexism don’t exist, just that it plays out differently today. Reading the pieces by Steinem and Morgan, I did feel like they were dismissing young women as naïve and uninformed, and that’s the sense I get from the cartoon.

I would also add that while I’m sympathetic to a lot of the Clinton bashing that has gone on in the press and on the web, I think the “It’s fair to bash Clinton (and her supporters), but not Obama (and his supporters)� complaint is incredibly counterproductive. Do you honestly think that women have been mocked for supporting Clinton while no one has had anything to say about black voters supporting Obama? Unfortunately, there's more than enough racism and sexism to go around. Haven’t we had enough of people pitting race against gender? As a black woman, I know I have.

MirandaJay, I honestly didn't intend that connotation with "ilk" at all. I will be careful about my use of the word in the future, now that I understand people take it that way.
I do read the posts and comments on feministing, obviously. I realize Clinton is receiving unfair treatment in the press, and that her supporters--in conjunction--have to deal with this misogyny. I'm dealing with this misogyny as a supporter of Clinton and her candidacy being treated equally. What I was talking about is the "you're silly and naive" shaming. I think as discriminatory as some critics of Clinton are, very few think shes unqualified.
And yes, as I said, I think this primary and politics in general need a healthy dose of humor.
In any case, I'm sad you're sad. I would never intend to disparage you, Clinton supports, or feministing community.

Blitzgal -- OK, after reading your second comment I see where I was being unclear. I didn't mean that Obama supporters support him just because he's cool. I meant that, because it's considered cool to vote for him, those who do support him are not shamed for doing so. If that distinction is not, well, distinct, please let me know and I’ll try to reword it. (Not being patronizing, I swear.)

Blitzgal -- OK, after reading your second comment I see where I was being unclear. I didn't mean that Obama supporters support him just because he's cool. I meant that, because it's considered cool to vote for him, those who do support him are not shamed for doing so. If that distinction is not, well, distinct, please let me know and I’ll try to reword it. (Not being patronizing, I swear.)

So...the mommy (with the short hair, sloppy-fatted, gigantic hips and high-necked shirt--you know, the female figure representing a stereotypical, de-sexed image of women over forty) is merely admonishing her daughter (the young, long-haired, patriarchy-approved-sexy type) in a comic little turn meant only to amuse feminists of all ages...yup, nothing the least bit insulting going on here!

(And you know what would've made this even more hilariously funny? If the fatty-hipped middle-aged crone was having hot flashes! Hot flashes exacerbated by standing over a hot stove--man, THAT would've been teh true awesome!!!!--and maybe if the younger one had hard nips showing through her shirt, cuz she's all hot and bothered by Obama's good looks? True satire just doesn't miss that kind of telling detail, you know?) Hahaha! That would've just slayed me!!)

But this is still pretty damn up there--I love this kind of feminist humour (it's so knowing, so witty and subversive in how it slips a sharp knife to anti-woman stereotypes) and thanks for telling all those other silly cows to get a sense of humour! Word up on dat!

....jesus, take me now.

I have a sense of humor and the cartoon was okay (didn't make me laugh but it was okay). It was the word "ilk" that bothered me, and despite the dictionary definition the only time I *ever* see it used is in the perjorative, e.g. "Liberals and their ilk" in irate letters to the editor. I'm surprised it doesn't have that connotation for everyone.

That being said, I haven't even decided who I'm voting for, so there.

To all who are misreading, deliberately or otherwise:

Comic: moderately funny.

Accompanying post: Not funny; woman-shaming; inflammatory; short-sighted.

Courtney, were you honestly not even a little put off when I (deliberately) referred to you as among "the Obama ilk"?

Seriously, I did NOT realize ilk had this connotation. I've changed the language on the original post. I've learned something and I appreciate that.

Every time I see people shouting at BO or HRC that this prolonged race is "hurting the party," I can't help but think about things like this.

THEY aren't hurting the party. WE--their supporters, who can't even step back long enough to say, "Hey, I think Obama/Clinton is the better candidate, but I think Clinton/Obama is decent, too, and we're all on the same side, right?"--are the ones hurting the party, the ones giving McCain a chance at the big chair.

So could we please knock it off? The cartoon was fine for what it was, but it was also insulting, particularly given how Obama-heavy a lot of the internet seems to be. I don't really know how anyone could expect those who have been repeatedly told that we support Clinton because we have not done the research, are afraid of change, can't see past gender or race, etc. to take that cartoon well. I don't believe slinging crap at Obama supporters is any more acceptable, but I see less of it. Whether that's because I'm a Clinton supporter, or whether it's because even places like Fark make the effort to not be overtly racist but have no compunction about being sexist jackholes, I couldn't say.

Again, I'm failing to see how this cartoon is "insulting." Lola's reading in particular seems a bit out there to me. I'm not sure what "sloppy fatted" means, nor do I understand what the mom having short hair has to do with anything. This is a pretty standard political cartoon in that it uses a recognizable scenario to illustrate an editorial opinion. In this case the typical scenario is a mother telling her daughter she can't go out in that outfit. Instead of the conflict being over the daughter's outfit being revealing, as one would assume, it's because she's wearing an Obama shirt. You can argue over the wittiness of it, but I think it's absurd to read this as an attempt to portray Hillary supporters as "fatty-hipped middle-aged crones." There are lots of things that I don't like and find unfunny, but that doesn't mean they are insulting.

i am so very fortunate to work with a building full of self-identified feminists. most days, it's amazing. however, i dread political talk because i am a clinton supporters who is constantly shamed by my feminist collegues. most assume i am an obama supporter because of my age (25). i tend to find the shame factor comes in the form of assuming i am an "unsophisticated" feminist - the assumption being that i am voting for clinton because she is a woman - which is not the case. i find this incredibly insulting. so this cartoon disappoints me, mostly because the portrayal reflects the dialogue within the feminist community - there is a generational assumption. but lately this site had disappointed me. too many posts have been about the candidates instead of discussing the gender, class, race issues surrounding the presidential hopefuls, which is what i used to expect to see here. perhaps i am alone is this, but i'm really turned off by all the self-promotion as of late. get a "where we are calendar", please, please, please. i love this site and would like to see it return to the quality it was not so long ago.

I offer another interpretation of the hilarious cartoon.

The Clinton supporter, older, presumably wiser due to age and experience than her cute, perky Obama supporting teenage daughter, is slaving away in the kitchen doing her domestic duty to her family.

She's tired of having to cook, clean, do the dishes for her ungrateful little Judas of a daughter and gets angry and punishes her.

The negative language in the post colored my initial interpretation and reaction to the cartoon. But once I looked at it again, I realized, the joke's probably on the Obama supporters and their ilk.

Why is the mother cooking and not tinkering in the garage?

Right, because Obama supporters NEVER shame Clinton supporters.

I'm recalling the time someone asked me if I had a Clinton button because I just "don't like the black man."

Why do I always get angry the one time each week I come to this blog?

Staying away until after the general election...

MirandaJay, that is a very cool interpretation. Not likely the cartoonist's intent since she seems very pro-Obama and anti-Hillary, though.

I am a 22 year old feminist and I support Clinton. I am sick of being told that I am voting for Clinton because we are both women, and I am sick of seeing Clinton supporters being portrayed as out of touch. I know this has been a long race, and people want to lighten things up but posts like this just make more angry. I'm not laughing.

I only ever hear of Obama supporters feeling shamed: I went to his rally in Eugene, Oregon the week before last and sat in line for fourteen hours listening to people repeat the most insipid, slanderous BS about Clinton all day. I never said I was a Clinton person there because I was a democrat who cared about the future of our country, but I did make it a point to say, when asked how I felt about the whole thing, that Clinton and Obama weren't enemies, and I hated this needless mudslinging. If Obama is about unity, why do I have trouble talking to supporters of his that don't have really sexist, awful things to say about Clinton?

I'm not saying it doesn't go both ways, I'm saying it's crap and it has to stop.