After Hillary Clinton's appearance at the Commander-in-Chief Forum on Wednesday night, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted that the former secretary of state "was angry [and] defensive the entire time — no smile and uncomfortable."
In addition to being a criticism far too often leveled at women, Priebus' comment that Clinton lacked a smile summed up the entire perception of her as cold, robotic, and removed — a perception Clinton says she developed for the sake of survival. In a moving testimony she relayed to Humans of New York in a post published Thursday, Clinton recounted her experience taking a Harvard law school admissions test with a friend, when the pair were set upon by male harassers: "I had to learn as a young woman to control my emotions ... And that's a hard path to walk. Because you need to protect yourself, you need to keep steady, but at the same time you don't want to seem 'walled off' […] But if that sometimes is the perception I create, then I can't blame people for thinking that."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
'Without mandatory testing, bird flu will continue circulating at farms across the country'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinksSpeed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
-
Khan supporters converge on IslamabadSpeed Read Protesters clashing with Pakistani authorities are demanding the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain PrizeSpeed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 winsspeed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
