Snap out of it

"You've come a long way, baby." That was the advertising slogan in 1968 promoting Virginia Slims, a cigarette marketed exclusively for women. Half a century has passed, and I wonder if we really have come all that far. During the feminist movement of the 1970s, I did not accept that it was "a man's world," but it did not take many work experiences to disabuse me of that notion (which is a subject for a longer discussion).My first opportunity to vote for a female president was Hillary Clinton's race, but I struggled to like her. Seriously? I needed to like her? As if we were going to shop together and have spa days? My head was full of years of complaints about her — she was ambitious, she was haughty, she wasn't nice, she stayed with a cheating husband to get to the White House. Why wasn't I impressed by the fact that she was a Yale graduate, had established a non-profit advocacy agency to benefit families and children, had been first lady of Arkansas and the United States, and a United States Senator and Secretary of State?On reflection I realized that I, and I fear many other people, had fallen prey to the insidious, decades-long assault by mostly white men to damage her image and character, and quash her as a political rival.Despite my progress, I still held back on my support for Kamala Harris in the days before President Joe Biden endorsed her. Didn't I hear she was a difficult boss; were independent voters ready for a female president; was she too tough (or too soft)? In fact, she is a Howard University alumna who has won numerous elections to serve as a district attorney, an attorney general and a U.S. Senator.I had a conversation with a local Republican politician who claimed to no longer be a Trump voter, but then he followed with "… and Kamala, we all know what a terrible job she has done as vice president." Do we now? The VP has two jobs in the federal government: preside over the Senate and be ready to assume the presidency. Has she been terrible at that? Obviously, he was hearing that "other narrative" being spread to preemptively undermine her political path. Now the spin is that she is a childless cat lady with an annoying laugh. Holy Cruella de Vil.Fortunately for me, I have snapped out of it. I will not let others' insinuations and personal attacks, or my own self-doubt prevent me from participating in this rare opportunity to prove to America and the world that a woman can do anything. I am totally into voting with my fabulous female and enlightened male friends to elect Kamala Harris as the first woman President of the United States of America. We are women … hear us roar … like big cats! (And don't ever call us baby.)Kathy Jacques, a Waterford resident, is a retired business owner and a co-founder of the voter advocacy group Guardians of Democracy.