WMC Commentary: Hillary Clinton’s Masculine Communication Style Just Might Win the Prize

Of course Hillary Clinton is “running as a woman.” As former Colorado Congresswoman Pat Schroeder aptly reminded us when asked the same question during her 1988 presidential bid: “do I have a choice?” However, unlike any other female presidential candidates in the United States before her, Hillary Clinton is also running like a man.

All men and women have both masculine and feminine communication traits. And Hillary Clinton’s communication style is as masculine as Bill Clinton’s is feminine. As charmingly as her husband is able to weave a tale and get the audience in the palm of his hand, regardless of the question he is fielding, Hillary Clinton is lawyerly and direct. Is she able to get the audience to “feel her pain?” Not so much. Which may be precisely the right formula to be elected the first woman president of the United States.

Why? Because America is a surprisingly masculine country. Dutch communication scholar Geert Hofstede’s observation of feminine and masculine cultures is especially important to the prospects of a woman American president. Hofstede notes that “femininity stands for a society in which social gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life.” Masculinity, on the other hand, “stands for a society in which social gender roles are clearly distinct: men are supposed to be assertive, tough and focused on material success.”

The United States ranks relatively high on measures of masculinity, at 62 on Hofstede’s scale, compared to a world average of 50. Tall and imposing men who are leaders can afford to wax nostalgic about their experiences as fathers. Remember how John F. Kennedy stopped conducting presidential business in a meeting when his young daughter Caroline unexpectedly entered the room? He even read passages from her book to her, in front of high level White House staff. Yet former Governor of Massachusetts Jane Swift was sharply criticized, when, pregnant with twins, she took time away from governing to care for her ill child. Critics pounced that she should be home with her child instead of running the state.

When Former Bill Clinton cried in public, most observers noted his tenderness as an admirable quality. But when presidential candidate Pat Schroeder cried in public it was seen as “proof” that she wasn’t “tough enough” to be president.

After the most recent Democratic candidate debate in Philadelphia, Hillary Clinton wanted to play it both ways: her camp claimed she was “piled on” because she is a woman by her six male opponents (and two male moderators). Then she said, "I don't think they piled on because I'm a woman. I think they piled on because I'm winning," in a UnionLeader.com interview after filing paperwork to appear on the New Hampshire primary ballot. "I anticipate it's going to get even hotter, and if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen. I'm very much at home in the kitchen," she said.

In the debate in Philadelphia, her most controversial and criticized answer came to the question: “Senator Clinton, Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer has proposed giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. He told the Nashua, New Hampshire, Editorial Board it makes a lot of sense. Why does it make a lot of sense to give an illegal immigrant a driver's license?”

She answered: “Well, what Governor Spitzer is trying to do is fill the vacuum left by the failure of this administration to bring about comprehensive immigration reform. We know in New York we have several million at any one time who are in New York illegally. They are undocumented workers. They are driving on our roads. The possibility of them having an accident that harms themselves or others is just a matter of the odds. It's probability. So what Governor Spitzer is trying to do is to fill the vacuum. I believe we need to get back to comprehensive immigration reform because no state, no matter how well intentioned, can fill this gap. There needs to be federal action on immigration reform.”

Let’s imagine that it was Bill Clinton who was asked the question regarding illegal immigrants and driver’s licenses. I imagine he might have said something like this: “You know, Tim, this is a tender subject for so many Americans who work hard everyday to make their American dream come true and we should do what would serve them best, while still preserving the rights of so many hard working Americans. You know, I just spoke with a young woman, Loubna Kloukonov who came here from Russia. She is working three jobs and has four young children to support and it makes sense to bring her out of the shadows. . . . ” By the time he’d finish the whole audience would be teary eyed and most people, including the press, would have declared him the winner.

So yes, Hillary Clinton is running as a woman, and she is also running as a man. It may be the perfect communication style to take her all the way back to the White House. Only this time, she’ll be no lady.