Image credit: Chris Piascik
Last night, rapper Killer Mike was stumping for Bernie Sanders when he made a statement regarding the intersection of biology and politics that has pundits scratching their heads.
Quoting social justice activist Jane Elliott, Killer Mike said, “Michael, a uterus doesn't qualify you to be president of the United States. You have to have policies that's [sic] reflective of social justice.’”
OK, so a uterus isn’t a qualification to be president — but it’s not a disqualification either, is it? And by that same token, testicles aren’t a qualification to be president. What about an appendix? Can you be president if you’ve had your appendix out? Or your gall bladder? Is that why presidential candidates typically release their medical records? So we can do an inventory of their organs?
While it is certainly valid to take the second part of the statement as the real heart of this matter — that policy should outweigh identity politics — it is also deeply uncool to police the motives of voters by dismissing identity politics as invalid rationale for supporting a candidate. There is nothing wrong with a voter saying, “You know what? After 200 plus years of dudes sitting in the Oval Office, I’m gonna vote for the girl this time and see how that plays out.”
There is no perfect metric for selecting a candidate, and many factors can come into play. However, never doubt that diversity of representation matters, and choosing a candidate to represent gender is just fine.
