“Karens for Kamala?” actress Connie Britton joked.
Britton was among two celebrities, several politicians and reportedly more than 100,000 others on a Zoom call promoting a way for white women to “show up for Kamala Harris.” What is happening echoes what Hillary Clinton claimed eight years ago. It’s also oddly reminiscent of conservatives like Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), whose tone, if not substance, is that those who are not on your side are considered merely human. Flawed people.
In addition, pop singer Pink was also present. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., told the story of how she and Britton had to drink toad venom after eating spoiled seafood.
The virtual rally was organized by gun control activist and Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts, who modeled the meeting after recent calls by black women and black men for Harris to be elected president.
More than $1.8 million was raised last night, according to Elizabeth Minnella, who emceed the call. Minnella urged viewers to join a group chat with their friends through the fundraising link, which she said she would put into her favorite group chat called “Harris Witches.”
“I’m here tonight, embracing myself among you incredible, profound white women, because we have a fucking job to do, y’all,” said Britton, who has starred in films such as Nashville, American Horror Storyand this white lotus. She went on to suggest that since Vice President Kamala Harris is a woman, she will “listen. And lead with empathy, integrity and the power of truth.” When President Joe Biden resigned as the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential candidate and endorsed Harris to succeed him, “the world exploded. Did you feel it?” Britton asked. “It was stunning. Cosmic even. Since then – have you seen it? Have you seen Kamala shine with her true power and leadership? What does that feel like? What does it feel like? Like self-love.
“Women, when we are able to open ourselves up to our voices and our gifts, can access a reflective self-love… and can shine to unknown depths,” Britton continued. “It reminds me of us. Beautiful, beautiful white women are here.”
If Britton sounded a little gender-essentialist, a little condescending, a little woo-woo — well, that fit the overall vibe of the call. At least Britten’s “Karens for Kamala” joke is one of the few moments where the speaker isn’t actively projecting self-seriousness.
If there’s an underlying theme, it’s that white women need to use their privilege to elect Harris — or else.
“White women, we have 100 days to help save the world!” Watts said.
Writer Glennon Doyle said white women need to “step up into the chasm between democracy and fascism.” Then, on election night, they’ll know “we were one of the women who finally came together, and… we saved the damn world.”
The call had all the hallmarks of the activism surrounding Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Harris’ first presidential campaign in 2020. There are those who insist that the stakes cannot be higher (which is exactly what world) and organizing for Democratic candidates isn’t just politics, it’s an act of courage. There’s a lot of acknowledgment of privilege, but also a disdain for any white woman who might exploit that privilege in a way that Democrats don’t like.
And, gosh, yes. Politics is self-care The style of activism displayed.
Most of the calls were filled with talk of some kind of social media therapy, as if Harris winning the election was just a matter of white female self-actualization.
Politics is fraught with discomfort, risk and backlash, “which is why so few white women do this work,” Doyle said. “Because it’s not safe. Because you have to get your hands dirty. Because you might make your neighbors uncomfortable. Because you also desperately need to be recognized and liked.” But Doyle suggested that white women need to “care more about us our children’s future, not our own comfort,” and suggested that the only reason women might not support and vote for Harris is ego.
“Tonight…people of white privilege are coming together to talk about what we are going to do, what we are going to do with our privilege,” said poet and activist Andrea Gibson, who noted that she was “ Actively seek out “white privilege.”
“Thank you, I feel like we all just went to group therapy,” Minnella responded after Gibson spoke.
As a collective empowerment session for white women, this call couldn’t be more appropriate. And, hey, that’s what a lot of base hitting games look like. (Make America Great Again campaigns tend to be more about making former President Donald Trump’s fans feel like they’re part of an ethical club than growing their base.) Additionally, the nearly $2 million raised isn’t enough. underestimate.
But as an effort to persuade people who don’t believe they should vote for Harris — at least that’s what some of the messaging surrounding the call suggests — it’s completely missing the mark.
Many of the speeches on last night’s call downplayed what Harris has done or what she represents, rather than emphasizing her femininity or the simple fact that she is not Trump and/or a Republican. This is a great way to unite people who already support your party and candidate, but not a great way to convince people who might be considering a third-party vote, not voting at all, or voting for Trump.
That has been a key argument in support of Harris since Biden dropped out. Writer Kat Rosenfield calls it “fandom politics”—a “rhetoric-fueled advocacy campaign that is fun to participate in for those already in the fandom, but for those outside it It is absolutely unconvincing to people.”
Like Clinton fans in 2016 and Harris supporters in 2020, many #KHive types seem unwilling to question the idea that Harris (or any Democratic People) may lose interest in women for other reasons.
“The bad news is that most white women vote Republican because too many of us subconsciously believe that it is in our best interest to use our privilege and the support systems of white supremacy and patriarchy to our advantage,” Watts said.
Watts was scathing about the fact that most white women regularly vote Republican. But as a voting group, white women are complicated. “White women make up 39 percent of the electorate and are the largest voting group in our country. They are also our most divided group, with voting patterns split along religion, education and marital status,” noted democracy. “Every other demographic group voted more consistently.”
Perhaps that’s part of why the idea of organizing a “White Women for Harris” call seems so strange.
There is nothing wrong with organizing people with certain similarities to discuss and act on political goals. But calling out a group as broad as white women just because they’re white women feels like it’s missing the plot. It assumes that white women are generally more similar than different simply because they are both white and female. At its core is collectivism. It mocks individuality.
On last night’s conference call, few thought that some white women might vote Republican because they are republicans. They may support Republicans for reasons that have nothing to do with women—for example, they may like the Republican stance on regulations or tax policies—or may even agree with ultraconservative views on issues like abortion and what can be taught in schools.
This is a mirror image of what we’re seeing with some on the right, best exemplified by J.D. Vance Sr.’s comments this week when he said the Democrats were “a bunch of childless cat women who have nothing to do with their lives.” and the choices they made, so they wanted to make the rest of the country miserable too, a sentiment that was by no means unique to Vance and prompted an outcry not only from progressives but also from conservative women. .
Vance’s comments are part of a common trope among some conservative men that all women who vote Democratic are pathetic harpies who hate children, men, traditional families, hate their lives, and are There are issues with mental health and emotional regulation. Of course, this is an insult (especially considering that many women who are single and/or childless do not do so by choice).
But this is also lazy— is just as lazy as assuming that all white women who don’t vote for progressive candidates are sexist and bigots.
Both parties would be wise to stop drinking too much of their own Kool-Aid. Come out of your respective echo chambers and realize how alienating this kind of rhetoric is to the average voter and true independents – who may have some political views, but are not highly ideological and don’t have a fanatical attachment to someone. The best way to rally these voters may not be to insult or shame Their marital status, number of offspring they have had, privileges, past voting habits, or anything else, but provide a positive perspective on what your candidate stands for.
Unless those “Harris witches” are gifted at casting spells, Harris’ supporters should probably focus more on how a Harris presidency will help the country rather than how it will help white women be good allies or demonstrate self-love. But if 2016 and 2020 are any indication, many progressive white women are learning this lesson too late, if at all.
