Why Are Women Less Likely Than Men To Support Sanders?

[RandySF]

It’s hard to pin down a single reason why men seem to be more attracted to Sanders’s candidacy than women. There isn’t really evidence, for example, that Sanders is especially likely to attract supporters who display hostile feelings toward women. In a recent analysis, researchers for Data for Progress did find that gender bias kept some voters from supporting Warren — but Sanders’s supporters didn’t hold more sexist views than Biden’s. But there is evidence, according to an analysis by Dan Cassino, a political science professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, that while support for Biden increases among voters with more sexist views, those with the most sexist views were disproportionately likely to favor Sanders. And sexism was higher, in general, among men.

“Educated Democrats who are quite sexist are disproportionately likely to be Sanders supporters,” said Cassino. “To be clear, there aren’t a lot of those people in the Democratic Party. But because of their education and social capital, they’re probably more inclined to tell people about their views and express them online.”

This doesn’t explain all of Sanders’s struggles with women. But his lopsided support among this group provides a window into some of the divisions that are roiling the Democratic primary electorate this year — particularly the limits of Sanders’s lefty, anti-establishment message and the aggression of his supporters at a moment when many Democratic voters are laser-focused on finding a candidate who can beat Trump.

At a Biden rally in Detroit last week, Mary Mckenney, 69, said that she hadn’t made up her mind about which candidate to support until the race narrowed to Biden and Sanders. Then, she said, her choice became very clear. “It’s not even that I don’t like Bernie’s ideas, I just think they can’t happen,” she said. “And I think if he’s the nominee there will just be more fighting and conflict. We need someone who can bring Democrats together.”

Views like Mckenney’s aren’t universal among Democratic women. Plenty of women are enthusiastic about Sanders — including Mckenney’s daughter Carrie, 43, who was standing next to her at the rally. But older women like Mckenney make up a much bigger share of the Democratic electorate, which makes them a disproportionately important group. So far, women over the age of 45 have made up 38 percent of Democratic primary voters, while women under the age of 45 only made up 19 percent. And the age gap that has emerged across the primary is almost certainly shaping women’s support for Sanders too: older women tend to be more moderate than younger women, which means they may be less likely to see Sanders’s calls to upend the status quo as feasible or appealing.

But generational fissures aren’t the whole story. Women of all ages told us they liked Sanders’s ideas but found aspects of his candidacy alienating. “I don’t have the same aversion to the DNC and the Democratic establishment that a lot of Bernie supporters seem to have,” said Tiffany Keane Schaefer, 31, who lives in Chicago and volunteered for Warren but is now undecided about who she’ll support. Schaefer told me she’s disturbed by some of the criticism Sanders allies levied against Warren for not endorsing Sanders after she dropped out. “Right now it feels like I am getting blasted every single day on social media about why Warren isn’t doing enough to help Sanders.” That antagonism makes Schaefer feel uncomfortable about the prospect of supporting Sanders, even though she’s closer to him on the issues than to Biden.




https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-are-women-less-likely-than-men-to-support-sanders/

[LizBeth]

1. Sanders is all about the white male in the 60's who doesnt have the privilege today of the past.

Sanders repeatedly show he has a chip on his shoulder with women. Sanders does not respect women and we see it often in behavior and what he says. He was the guy that didn't get it but thought he ought to and was pissed at women. Blaming women teachers as old B*'s causing him to fail in life.

[TomCADem]

48. Bernie is Truly Getting Trashed Because Biden Is Running Even With Him

Among white men. Before Bernie owned the white male demographic in 2016:

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1237546951026946048&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.salon.com%2F2020%2F03%2F11%2Fwhy-is-bernie-losing-because-hes-not-running-against-a-woman%2F

[LizBeth]

50. Very interesting and telling. Thanks.

[Tumbulu]

54. He is the guy who was always begging for a "mercy f*ck" because we women had it so much easier

Last edited Fri Mar 13, 2020, 10:16 PM - Edit history (1)

that principled white men.

I finally figured out that that is what sets me off about him.

I just call him “mercy bernie “ in my head.

[LizBeth]

59. +1

[msongs]

2. he posseses the most abrasive of what are considered masculine behavior while biden has

a personality that one might consider more stereotypically feminine.

[apcalc]

45. +1

[apcalc]

4. He's the pushy old know it all we've had to endure our entire life.

The old man who tells us how it should be, ever explaining HIS reality, without paying the least bit of attention to us.

[KT2000]

7. +1

yep!

[OhZone]

8. Exactly!

[SergeStorms]

10. GET OFF MY LAWN!

That sort of fellow?

[apcalc]

43. +1

[we can do it]

32. Wow. Exactly.

[apcalc]

44. 👍🏻

[Skittles]

5. me:

he just creeps me out

[CatMor]

34. Me too.

[rzemanfl]

51. Well put Skittles.

The kind of a guy who would knock a girl up, then expect her and the baby to get by on welfare.

[Tumbulu]

55. Exactly!

Just one of those guys always begging for mercy!

And then they left you.

[Sloumeau]

6. I believe that Sanders did tell Warren that...

Last edited Fri Mar 13, 2020, 05:47 AM - Edit history (1)

a woman could not win the nomination. Now, this was allegedly in 2018, after Hillary Clinton had both gotten more votes than Sanders and then more votes than Trump. So, why would he believe this in 2018 unless he really had a streak of sexism? When men are sexists, I think that women get a certain vibe from men, and perhaps women are getting it from Bernie. Also, this attitude makes sense to me:

At a Biden rally in Detroit last week, Mary Mckenney, 69, said that she hadn’t made up her mind about which candidate to support until the race narrowed to Biden and Sanders. Then, she said, her choice became very clear. “It’s not even that I don’t like Bernie’s ideas, I just think they can’t happen,” she said. “And I think if he’s the nominee there will just be more fighting and conflict. We need someone who can bring Democrats together.”

I'm with Ms. Mckenney. The problem is not Bernie's ideas. It is just that I, like Ms. Mckenney, do not think that they are achievable. Also, I see Biden as more unifying than Bernie, whose anti-establishment rhetoric seems more divisive.

[Squinch]

9. Because women are more pragmatic. Most of us know when we are being handed a line.

Also, some of his followers seek to dominate in all situations, including when it is completely inappropriate (like, for example, the booing). Those attempts at domination are often abusive (the sexist name calling at caucuses) and sometimes go to sick lengths (doxing followers of other candidates.)

Many of us have seen this behavior from men we have run from.

[TreasonousBastard]

13. I have known for years that women have much better bullshit indicators than men...

The reasons for this may be debated, but when they don't push the indicators aside, they are spot on.

You can't con a woman unless she wants to be conned.

(Kindly do not take that the wrong way. I do not mean it as an excuse for bad behavior)

[betsuni]

11. "It's not enough for somebody to say, 'I'm a woman, vote for me!'"

This is one of the billion reasons why a person with a small amount of fucking common sense does not support such a person.

[Maru Kitteh]

64. Oh gawd, I'd forgotten about that one.

Forgotten, but not forgiven.

[IronLionZion]

12. Women liked Obama a lot

so maybe they like his sidekick Biden for similar reasons.

I'm a minority mid 30s male but this is a common reason why lots of people are ridin with Biden:

“And I really just want a president who won’t keep me up at night, thinking about what he’s going to do next, thinking about who he’s going to appoint to the Supreme Court. The most important thing to me in this election is just ensuring that Donald Trump is no longer our president.”

[Happy Hoosier]

14. Because he's a bit of a mansplainer.

Last edited Fri Mar 13, 2020, 08:17 AM - Edit history (1)

He reminds me on a no kidding card-carrying communist professor my wife had in grad school. My wife was giving a presentation on a particular feminist theory and the professor interrupted her to tell she is not properly interpreting women's experience under capitalism patriarchal power structures. He didn’t see the irony. The students did.

[redstatebluegirl]

36. Yes, this is true. He reminds me of my Dad a huge mansplainer.

He talks down to people who don't agree with him, male or female.

[William769]

15. Simple, they are smarter than us. nt

[MaryMagdaline]

16. The success of the Democratic Party in recent decades has

Benefited women, children and gays ... Medicaid for children, childcare benefits, after school care, anti-discrimination laws. Millions of dollars and millions of votes have gone to uphold pro choice issues. The Democratic Party drew people interested in the rights of women, children and gays.

For whatever reason, some people blame women and gays for taking away the Democratic success in advancing white working men’s interests. Implicitly, the emphasis on income inequality, anti-trade, has attracted men more than women. Bernie has unwittingly discounted other “identity” issues of the Democratic Party. Subliminally, I get a message that women, gays, and yes, minorities, have dominated the agenda and need to step aside for the more important economic issues that affect white men (as if income inequality were not a thing with women and minorities). When I hear that the Democratic Party has lost its way, is no longer the party of FDR, I hear two things, one good: we need to stand with labor; and one bad: male manufacturing jobs are a more important priority. When Bernie attacks Wall Street and insurance companies, he forgets that a lot of women work for Wall Street and insurance companies, with good health insurance and good pensions. Bernie does not value teaching, nursing, secretarial, banking, office work to the same extent as manufacturing. In short, not a welcoming movement to anyone whose job is not factory related. He makes us feel we are enemies. An otherwise strong feminist issue MFA sounds pretty hostile when he rages about taking down insurance companies.

[Sunlei]

17. well written-M4A, debt forgivness, free college is a lot of change-but that angry yelling man

has already fostered some change in a more progressive direction. Along with the changes Clinton made in her campaign some states do have free college today, a lot of states have raised their pay, added worker insurance.

With a Biden President the USA will still move in a positive progressive direction, thank the Gods.

[MrsCoffee]

18. That angry yelling man is fostering division that overrides any good he might be trying to do.

And surrounding himself with other divisive people who share a scorched earth ideology.

[Sunlei]

19. the division is the circular firing squad on ones own party, voters and people.

*scorched earth party are the republican party*



“One of the things I do worry about sometimes among progressives in the United States,” he said, “maybe it’s true here as well, is a certain kind of rigidity where we say, ‘Uh, I’m sorry, this is how it’s going to be’ and then we start sometimes creating what’s called a ‘circular firing squad’, where you start shooting at your allies because one of them has strayed from purity on the issues.

“And when that happens, typically the overall effort and movement weakens.”

Obama in Germany 2019

[MrsCoffee]

20. You are just making my case for me.

[Sunlei]

22. well, no need to make a "case" out of it..you remind me-

time for a good cup of coffee

[MineralMan]

21. Bernie Sanders is part of the Silent Generation Patriarchy, really.

He and I are in the same age group, although he is a few years older than I am. The Silent Generation led the 1960s leftist political movements. Bernie is, and always was, part of that. Socialism of one form or another was a big factor in the anti-war, labor, and civil rights movements. That's where the thought-leaders of the day were situated politically. It was still a patriarchal movement. Feminists were mistrusted by that movement and many women moved away from it and found other directions to follow.

As a second-tier organizer and part of the anti-war movement in the Washington, DC area, one of the things that stood out for me was the male-dominated leadership of that movement. Men of Bernie Sanders' age ran things, pretty much. Women were relegated to lesser, supporting roles, almost entirely. I was a few years younger, and was also somewhat excluded due to my lack of experience.

It was a patriarchal movement. The shift to a less sex-based leadership simply had not happened yet. Some of the leaders of that time became less patriarchal in the following decades, while others maintained their disdain for women's points of view.

Bernie Sanders strikes me as one of those who did not make that transition. That might be why he doesn't have the full support of women in general. He remains a patriarchal leader in a time that is rejecting the patriarchy.

[Sunlei]

23. Quite a history and woman like Clinton were so strong, had to fight 10 times harder

fight so hard to be part of Americas politics. IMO Hillary Clinton is an American Hero, she would have been an excellent president.

[MineralMan]

24. Yes, exactly. At that time, it was almost impossible for a woman

to take the lead in loose-knit organizations like the anti-war movement. They were simply rejected. I found it frustrating, to say the least. Puzzling, too.

Some of that attitude still exists among men from the Silent Generation. It's move visible now, and gets noticed more when it is part of someone's personality. I'm afraid that Bernie Sanders is one of those who didn't wake up sufficiently to the problem. It's still there in him, and reveals itself in his general attitudes and manner.

It's not a good characteristic for someone seeking the presidency, I think. Not now.

[Sunlei]

38. I think they're a fairly similar generation.

Of course neither has the character flaws like Trump does about women or skeletons in the closets.

Both men have shown they recognize past issues like un-equal pay for woman & regulating a woman's right to control her own body are unacceptable.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

37. Oh, yeah! I remember those days well. Many of us flirted with socialism

when we got involved in the antiwar movement. But we women quickly discovered that the only use for women in that bunch was to do clerical work. Somebody had to mimeograph those flyers decrying the "establishment," that is, the capitalist traitors to the proletariat, and it sure wasn't going to be those self-important, privileged white boys attending college on Daddy's dime.

[MineralMan]

39. Exactly. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised by that,

but I was. I grew up in a household where my mother was the source of all good advice. Then, I hooked up with girls in school who were smart, outspoken, and capable of anything. Same when I went off to college for the first time.

One of my best friends in high school was a girl who became co-valedictorian with me. She ended up being a neurosurgeon, while I ended up being a writer. We still stay in touch occasionally.

So, when I saw the disdain with which the leaders of the DC anti-war movement treated the women who were involved, I was surprised and disappointed. It simply made no sense to me at all. I grew to understand what was behind it, and rejected it.

Fortunately, most men in that age group are aging out of positions of power and authority. Women are rising in the political power structure, although they still do not make up half of that power structure. Progress, but not enough.

Bernie remains locked into the thinking of too many men in the Silent Generation. Too bad for him.

[Tumbulu]

57. Well articulated, and I really hate those guys

which is my reaction to him. The ideas are good, which is why I was for Warren, who had plans for how to implement them.

My reaction to him is so visceral and negative. And strongly so.

[StarfishSaver]

25. The better question is "Why are men more likely to support Bernie than women?"

These questions are always seem based on the premise that men/white people are the norm and we need to figure out why anyone - women, minorities, etc. - would vary from it.

Instead through of pondering why women vote so differently than men, as if they're going against the grain, I'm all for analyzing why men don't vote more like women.

[empedocles]

27. Good question

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

35. Yup. Seems like white males are the outliers these days.

[Me.]

26. His Shoving His Flailing Hand & Pointy Finger In Women's Faces Says It All To Me

[empedocles]

29. Aggressive, visceral, BS anger

[JenniferJuniper]

30. Aggressive - yes

I am certainly closer to him politically than I am to Biden, but there is something very off-putting about his demeanor.

[Me.]

42. Trust Your Intuition

It's on youe side and won't lie to you. Men don't often get it because they've not been subjected to it all their lives.

[Jedi Guy]

63. It's not only women who have that reaction to Bernie, though.

I'm a 40-year-old male, and I find his finger-wagging, arm-flailing, hectoring behavior extremely disagreeable and off-putting. To me, he comes across like a grouchy old scold. I'm not the least bit interested in giving him a Presidential soapbox from which he can harangue and berate the nation for the next four years.

As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing wrong with the message, and there's a lot wrong with him as the messenger. Elizabeth Warren is far and away a better communicator of the progressive agenda. I think that's why some of Bernie's supporters find her so upsetting. She's butting into their idol's territory, and that can't be forgiven.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

28. The juicebox revolutionaries' male privilege manifested itself.

[randr]

31. I can't believe someone would even ask this---DUH

[GemDigger]

33. Because Bernie treated me like a "Wham, Bam, thank you ma'am" until I need you again.

I only need to get screwed over once and I learn my lesson and trust goes out the window.

[Gothmog]

40. Rejection of the bernie bro phenomennon may be one reason

Link to tweet

For all the talk about Sen. Bernie Sanders’s diverse coalition and progressive outlook (and all the questions about the “likability” of female candidates), it should not escape notice that the biggest group of Democratic voters — women — overwhelmingly rejected the Vermont independent.

In Michigan, women made up 54 percent of the electorate; former vice president Joe Biden won 58 percent among these voters, compared to 35 percent for Sanders. In Missouri, women also accounted for 54 percent of the electorate; they chose Biden 64 to 32 percent. In Mississippi, 58 percent of the electorate was female; women chose Biden 83 to 12 percent.

Go back to Super Tuesday. Biden’s median support among women was 12 points higher than Sanders’s (37 to 25 percent) but only four points higher among men. In all Super Tuesday state exit polls, women made up more than 50 percent of the electorate — reaching roughly 60 percent in some cases (e.g. 58 percent in Minnesota, 61 percent in Alabama, 59 percent in Maine). That reflects the huge gender gap between the two parties that has only widened during the Trump era.....

Women’s aversion to Sanders may also be a rejection of the Bernie Bros phenomenon — the obnoxious harassment and even threats directed at women (including journalists and union leaders, as was the case in Nevada). Plenty of women did not think it was the least bit improbable that Sanders told Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) he did not think a woman could win. The only other candidate whose campaign ethos is so infused with testosterone is Trump.

The degree to which Sanders has turned off women is a fundamental problem for the left, which contrary to its self-conception is largely white and male. It is hard to present oneself as the vanguard of a diverse party when your coalition on race and gender (but not age) looks like a Republican coalition. Moreover, it is impossible to win as a Democrat without the support and enthusiasm of women.

[TomCADem]

47. Look at how the campaign has leaked info against AOC...

...just because she has not appeared at more campaign events to bolster Bernie. AOC helped him out, but then they undercut during her reelection campaign.

[Demsrule86]

41. I have four daughters...not all are old enough to vote...but three out of the four like Biden and

one liked Warren...none liked Sanders. I disagree with OP in that endorsements like Rogan hurt Sanders with AA voters and women voters. He said filthy things about Hillary Clinton...only women candidates get treated this way ...and what about Cent...he has issues with women also. Sanders also supported (campaigned for) Heath Mello and Tom Perriello who actually voted for anti-choice laws...Mello in Nebraska and Perriello in the House during the ACA debate.

I should add that I have one son who supported Sanders in 16 and now. He is very sad...I feel bad for him. He likes Sanders policies but has taken flack from his fellow union people who don't want to lose their very good union insurance. Everyone who can will vote for the presumptive nominee...Joe Biden.

[ehrnst]

46. K&R

[NurseJackie]

49. Calling Warren a liar on national TV didn't help.

And then his patronizing and dismissive response to Warren confronting him... that wasn't a good-look for him.

[FM123]

52. As an woman who supported (and adored) Elizabeth

that moment just crushed me. No matter how many of Bernie's ideas seemed wonderful, he no longer seemed wonderful to me after that.

[stopwastingmymoney]

53. I'm a middle aged white woman born and raised in California

I was Bernie in 2016 for the ideas

Of course I voted for Hillary in the general and was pissed at how she got screwed. I was also thrilled to finally have a woman to vote for that office.

My feeling this time was that I’m tired of old white men being in charge and I wanted a woman.

The double standard applied to our female candidates infuriates me. My own father told me Kamala was too angry. I had to explain to him that she’s tough and women our age had to be to get a little respect in this old man’s world.

I love Kamala when she’s kicking ass but my heart belonged to Warren and I voted for her even though it was clear she wasn’t going to win.

Now I lean Biden because I think he’s a much better manager and that’s what we’re going to need.

My 37 cents, I don’t think I’m alone here...

[Tumbulu]

56. Exactly how I went with it.

Thanks for articulating it so well.

[stopwastingmymoney]

60. Thank you for saying so

Often DU can feel like speaking into a void 😊

[gollygee]

58. We get annoyed by male entitlement and he's got a lot of it. nt

[iwannaknow]

61. I'm a woman who supports Sanders 100%

[cwydro]

62. He's every man who ever annoyed me.

Every man who spoke over me, every man who asked me inappropriate questions about my sex life, every man who thought he is smarter than everyone else.

[Tarheel_Dem]

65. Two words: Joe Rogan. n/t