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How to cope when another female candidate loses
The stories we tell ourselves make a difference
I want to caution us that the story that misogyny killed the Warren candidacy is just that: A story. And before we etch that story into our collective book of truth, we would do ourselves a service to entertain the possibility of other narratives being true.
Note: This story was updated March 7, 2020 to be more evergreen and less an in-the-moment response to news of Warren’s loss; the core ideas are the same.
Grieving Elizabeth Warren’s candidacy
Many women in this country are experiencing a thunderous, aching grief as they process the news that Elizabeth Warren is not going to be the Democratic nominee. Their heartbreak comes from allowing themselves to imagine yet another astonishingly talented female leader in the White House, only to see that dream crushed, with two white, male candidates left standing.
Reeling, we tell ourselves a story: America really does hate women. Or, a slightly milder one: This country just isn’t ready to elect a woman to the White House. This cynicism is grounded in a lot of cold, hard…
