Race and Gender: Do they really Matter?

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Election

Why this story is important: This election season is one of the biggest talks nowadays and it has nothing to do with the importance or quality of the candidates. It’s centered around the fact that one person running for the nomination is a woman and the other is an African American. I wanted to find out how important race and gender is.

What I did to get this story: I interviewed two professors to get their opinions on the importance of race and gender if there is one. Then I am a firm believer in student opinions so I wanted to speak with a few students to find out how their voting decision might be supported. I also searched the internet for previous election statistics and also for current delegate standings.

Online links to the information used in this story: www.msnbc.com

Just talking about the presidential election the country is going through brings up other topics of conversation that have yet to play a big factor is the presidential race. Race and gender are always going to be synonymous with the 208 election and we have Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to thank for that.

In the 2004 presidential election race, gender and other statistics were recorded for the voter turnout. For example, 55 percent of males voted for George W. Bush while 44 percent voted for John Kerry. In the same election, 48 percent of women voted for Bush, while 51 percent voted for Kerry. Other statistics were recorded such as how different races and genders voted. For example, 62 percent of white men, 55 percent of white women, 30 percent of non-white men, and 24 percent of non-white women voted for Bush. Compared to the 37 percent of white men, 44 percent of white women, 67 percent of non-white men and 75 percent of non-white women voted for Kerry.

But in this election the role of race and gender is still searching for its importance or lack there of. In the aftermath of Barack’s strong victory in the South Carolina primary, where he received 55 percent of the vote, including 80 percent of the black vote, both man and female, but only 24 percent of the white vote, the question still remains on what role does race matter. Also, in that same primary, the majority of white women who voted did so for Hillary. Is race and gender that important, and if so, should we only take in to consideration those two factors when deciding on a president?

“This is the first time that a black person and a woman have been viable candidates for
one of the major parties,” Jane Elza, professor emeritus or political science, said. “Whether
Obama or Clinton is more electable is the issue of the day and the conclusion of the delegates on that issue may determine the nomination. Neither can win without the other because each represents a large voting segment of the Democratic Party.”

Many students on campus are quick to respond to the role of race and gender in the election.

“I believe the race and gender of the president is not as important as character,” Kacy Gellins, junior computer information sciences major, said.

“Now having said this, just because we have a woman and a black man running, does not mean we should elect them. We need to be very cautious concerning this situation. If the person we elect is not ‘fit’ for the job, anyone who disagrees with him or her will be questioned on whether their motives for disagreement are racist or sexist,” Gellins, said.

“I feel like they [race and gender] definitely both matter because in America we give attribution to almost every single aspect of a person, including personal experiences and appearance,” Brianna Powell, junior communication arts major, said. “However, I don’t believe that the choices that we make in an election should be based solely on race and gender.”

From information on msnbc.com, the current presidential election is underway and the total number of delegates is listed for the election standings. John McCain has achieved the number required of 1,191 delegates needed for the republican nomination. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are still in battle with Obama only needing 383 more delegates to reach the 2,024 needed for the democratic nomination and Hillary at 517 short.

Race matters and becomes an issue when a candidate uses race to drive his or her entire campaign. Race matters when a candidate uses it to diminish or highlight the differences between the candidate and the opponent, polarize the political party and divide the country in order to accomplish the candidate’s goals.

“I think that it is vital for us as a nation to get past the so-called ‘politics of identity,” Dennis Marks, chair of the Lowndes County Democratic Committee, said. “One should not vote for, or against, Hillary Clinton because of her gender. One should not vote for, or against, Barack Obama because of his mixed race. One should vote for whichever candidate one
believes will be the best president.”

Race and gender are issues that this country has battled for many years, and once again it is a hot topic of interest that will last until the election is over. No one will know just how important the roles of race and gender play in politics until then.

“There are those who say the mere fact that one or the other will be nominated means America has risen above its history of hatred and discrimination,” Elza, said. “I say that Americans will turn out in force and vote against either because of who they are. Getting the nomination is a first step in putting that past truly behind us. I do not expect the election to be close, but I do expect it will depend on turnout, especially the young vote. Those going to
the polls will not be voting for McCain. They will be voting against a black and or a woman.”

“Our country needs a leader that is intelligent and knows how to handle situations rationally,” Carl Wynn, sophomore business major, said. “Knowledge and experience don’t discriminate so why should we.”