The Making Of A Powerful Woman Image

Over the past six years, the issues related to race in America has reemerged in response to the election of President Obama. Meanwhile, national conversations on sexism have sometimes taken a backseat. But thanks to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, the issue has sprung up most recently. With an increasing number of polls showing that Hillary Clinton would possibly be a strong front-runner for the 2016 presidential race, sexists, media analysts and critics are all rushing to cover the former secretary of state with more or less sexist description. If Hillary runs again for the President, it could serve as a catalyst to disclose sexists and may finally help us realize and confront sexist thinking widely.However, sexism towards Hillary Clinton is nothing new, and perhaps, no female political figure has suffered more from sexism than her has. Based on a debate among scholars about whether Hillary Clinton has done something to defend against sexism, this essay primarily analyzes that instead of leaving sexism untouched, Hillary Clinton constructs her self-image as a powerful woman to defend against sexism. The analysis reveals that strategies of self-image construction to defend against sexism and gender bias are achieved by usage of masculine construction against sexism, construction of her relationship with feminism, and more access to professional participation.