Humans Of New York creator Brandon Stanton sat down with Hillary Clinton as she shared her experience and some of her past and current battles. The interview was posted on the Humans Of New York website, Facebook, and other social media sites this past Thursday.
The first post is an experience Clinton had while in Harvard Law School.
She mentions, “I know I can be perceived as aloof or cold or unemotional. But I had to learn as a young woman to control my emotions.”
Many complaints of Clinton are about her hard personality. She tells Stanton that she needed to have this strength in Law School when her classmates tried to tear her down, “And while we’re waiting for the exam to start, a group of men began to yell things like: ‘You don’t need to be here.’ And ‘There’s plenty else you can do.’”
Clinton explains that her hard exterior is meant to protect herself and acknowledges that she can come across as “walled off.”
The second post further describes the “emotional tightrope” that women in any field can experience.
“You have to communicate in a way that people say: ‘OK, I get her.’ And that can be more difficult for a woman. Because who are your models? If you want to run for the Senate, or run for the Presidency, most of your role models are going to be men. And what works for them won’t work for you,” Clinton said.
A Huffington Post article discusses the reality of Clinton’s interview, “Welcome to womanhood: If you emote too much, you’re a weeping crazy lady. If you emote too little, you’re an ice cold b*tch.”
Clinton reminds people that her male counterparts are aggressive in their speeches because they are passionate. She has that same level of passion but is looked at differently because she is a woman.
“I love to wave my arms, but apparently that’s a little bit scary to people. And I can’t yell too much. It comes across as ‘too loud’ or ‘too shrill’ or ‘too this’ or ‘too that.’ Which is funny, because I’m always convinced that the people in the front row are loving it,” Clinton said.
People sounded off in the comments section on Facebook. One of the top liked comments said, “I won’t be voting for her, as I’m a Gary Johnson supporter, but I will say that I enjoy hearing her talk in a different kind of light. It’s almost refreshing. Either way, I’m proud that a woman has got to the point where she is.”
Another commenter expressed interest in hearing Donald Trump’s story and asks Humans of New York if it is part of a series for the presidential candidates. When will Donald Trump get his Humans of New York interview?
People directed hate comments at Clinton and Humans of New York. A commenter defended the page writing, “I don't see this post as being anything about the election. It's about a woman creating her own way in a man's world. I think it's spot on.”
The two posts combined have about 1.5 million likes.