Female figures in politics has been limited. It can be a lot harder for these women to make a precise name for themselves in a field of work they love, however, when there are female politicians, the spotlight is on them in a different way than their counterparts. As seen through politics over the years, male politicians get hit with multiple cases of affairs, assault, photos and texts being released, and yet they often stay in office. Most of the time these incidents won’t affect the men’s time in office and they continue to serve their term. This is not the case when it comes to female politicians: and Katie Hill is a prime example.

    Katie Hill, who served on the US Representative for California’s 25th District, has since resigned after only serving ten months in office. Hill, who was the first bisexual congresswoman, resigned due to nude photos and explicit texts being released without her consent by her own husband. The photos, which showcase Hill and a former female campaign staffer being intimate with one another, has since made Hill fearful. The New Yorker states, “A woman – prominent, articulate, still powerful enough to command a national audience, even though she has just given up her congressional seat – stood on the floor of Congress and said that she feared for her life.” It is never heard of to hear a male politician to be fearful for his life after a scandal has surfaced. Being a female in the world of politics, there is a different standard that is expected of them. If these women don’t meet those standards or mess up in any little way, it is a bigger story and talked about longer than for the men politicians.

            As has been proven in the past, if the role was reversed and a male politician was in the spotlight for having photos and texts released to the public; that man would still be in office. Many times, there is an affair that surfaces during a term for any male politician and after a couple days of discussing the incident and being over the news, eventually people stop caring and move on to other topics. Because the roles have been reversed and it is a female politician in the spotlight, more coverage is taking place and all eyes are focusing in on the incident. In proving how different the public handles each genders affairs, Hill states, “The forces of revenge by a bitter jealous man, cyber exploitation and sexual shaming that target our gender, a large segment of society that fears and hates powerful women, have combined to push a young woman out of power.” Due to Hill being a female, the public is being harsher than for males and making Hill fear for her life, which has never been done for male politicians. Being so far along in women’s rights and creating equal workplaces for both genders, those concepts should be carried over in all aspects of life; including scandals like these.

Hill stands apart from her other female politicians because she is the first bisexual congresswomen. Being bisexual has its cons; discrimination is unfortunately exhibited in their everyday lives. Being bisexual and having such a public career adds to that disturbance every day. According to GLADD, “58% of bisexuals are exposed to biphobic jokes at work, and 31% have been sexually harassed on the job because of who they are.” The countless memes, social media posts and ridicule making fun of Hill and any other bisexual person in the media is imense; and the sexualization of bisexual individuals is also a huge problem, due to the misconception that bisexuals are promiscuous, greedy, and can’t just “pick a side.” 

 No other bisexual person should fear stepping into office. Politics is a strong world and a heavy career field, however, the more politicians that care about the United States and the well-being of the Americans should take office, no matter what they identify as. Regardless of what Hill has or has not done that people might agree or disagree with, no one should be made fun of for who they are, have their private lives leaked and exposed to the world, and fear for their lives because of death and rape threats. As many speculate, if Hill was a man with the same scandals, maybe the ridicule would be less, and maybe Hill would not have to undergo such severe scrutiny and violent threats.