Hillary Clinton has served as a U.S. senator and Secretary of State (State Department photo).

By Casey N. Wilson/Western Sun staff writer

The 2016 presidential election has been a heated one no one can stop following.

We have candidates making inappropriate jokes as debates, we have candidates that strongly support controversial causes, and most importantly, we have Hillary Clinton.

Many brush off Clinton as the women’s vote, alleging that female voters would naturally choose a woman. This isn’t entirely correct, but it’s not wrong either. Having a female president is more important than most people realize.

The sexism in politics has never been more of a hot topic, and there’s a reason for it. Men don’t know how it feels to be talked down to because of their gender or to have people dismiss them in careers. Clinton does.

Why a woman president is so important is because women will finally have a voice. We could have a candidate who will not only actively work for women’s rights, but also one that is putting a serious dent in the glass ceiling.

There’s a noticeable lack of women in politics and for decades now, Clinton has had her hands full with government. She’s held positions that are normally employed by men and she plays critical roles in various events.

According to CNN, “as U.S. first lady, she worked with Congress and succeeding in passing a historic childhood health insurance program, she put women’s rights on the global agenda…as a U.S. senator, she led the way in getting support for the first responders on 9/11 and bringing new economic development to upstate New York.”

This doesn’t even graze her many accomplishments as secretary of state, wherein she negotiated with Iran on sanctions, brokered agreements between countries, and helped to bring peace to Israel by negotiating a Middle-Eastern ceasefire.

So why is she treated so poorly?

Women have always been judged on their appearance, more so than men. People are only just becoming more outspoken about it and bringing awareness to the sexism women face. We are expected to fit a certain mold and when we don’t, there’s backlash.

For example, talk show host Rush Limbaugh brought up Clinton’s “cankles” on his show. It’s hard to imagine a male presidential candidate, or any man, being criticized for the size of their legs.

There is the perfection myth, the idea where women have to conform to fit a certain mold. Clinton has been battling this myth for all of her career and with her presidential race, she’s gotten much more flack.

If she speaks loudly, she’s shrill. If she criticizes someone, she’s a bitch. If she tries to relate to her demographic with pop culture, she’s fake. All the while, her male contemporaries are being applauded for crude jokes about the size of their members.

Yes, Clinton has garnered support from women, but it’s not the simple solidarity as some might think. She has experienced problems 51 percent of the world has dealt with and yet are never addressed. With only this election, she is breaking barriers and I, for one, am hoping to see a woman in the White House.