Her name is Harris

The Sandbox Political Topics
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I’ve noticed this for years, it became really annoying in 2016 but wasn’t talked about much, now I’m seeing folks bringing it up on social media.

Politicians and other notable figures are typically referred to by their last names. Unless the reference is an intended slight or unless it’s a woman.

I imagine it’s a subconscious thing but it’s a little thing that belies sexism/ misogyny even when other women do it.

See if you notice it now in the comments referring to her as Kamala instead of Harris.

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I think they want to emphasize that she has an unusual name, and they can mispronounce it on purpose without looking like complete idiots.

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I always figured Hilary Clinton was called Hilary to distinguish her from that other Clinton politician. But will watch whether Harris gets Kamala. I expect it will be used rather than Harris to show the “foreignness” of her name?

Have not noticed the trend in Canada for female politicians. Our two high profile male politicians though are referred to frequently as Justin and Pierre.

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May and Thatcher here

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Say Her Name

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Whereas Johnson usually got Boris?

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Same. (Except it’s Hillary, not Hilary.)

She also seemed to make a deliberate choice to go by Hillary in that she used “Hillary for America” as her slogan. So… meh… not sexist.

George W Bush was typically called W or Bush Jr to distinguish him from his dad and Jeb Bush was typically called Jeb to distinguish him from either one. Also not sexist.

Harris… eh… I see her referred to either way. Her first name is certainly more distinctive than her last, so that may be part of calling her Kamala.

I feel like Sarah Palin was referred to as “Palin” more often than “Sarah” … and Palin is the more unique part of her name. :woman_shrugging:

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Which is actually his middle name

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Perfect example… Boris is more unique than Johnson.

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This is why John Smith can never run for President

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Thanks. Just used the “one l” spelling that I see more frequently for other folks. I should have been sensitive to that spelling as I dislike it when people spell my own name as Allan rather than Alan.

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Not automatically sexist. It depends on the overall remark.

Pet names like Kami would not be appropriate unless you know her well. Still not necessarily sexist, but probably not appropriate.

Then there’s “Cameltoe” and “Kneepads” that I’ve seen some MAGA types use. :face_with_diagonal_mouth: That’s just plain no.

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Nancy Pelosi is often referred to as Pelosi.

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That said, I almost always refer to a new important person as Mr./Ms. Lastname myself unless they invite me to say otherwise.

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Bernie is Bernie.

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I think the first name is used more frequently when attempting to portray the person in a negative light. (Sleepy Joe). So what I’m saying is you will see Kamala from your favorite media channels!

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I’ve also seen someone here use Kamal instead of Kamala. Kamal is the masculine form of the name.

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Did he come from the same (opposite of Amazon) tribe that Michael did?

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op is correct, but it’s tough because I like dactyls and the triple a just rolls off the tongue.

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Hilary Duff
Hillary Clinton