I’m Speaking: anger, motherhood, and the strategic rhetoric of Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris’ career has been a series of shattered glass ceilings, from prosecutor to attorney general to senator to vice-president. An improbable climb for anyone, Harris navigated the challenges facing any ambitious woman pursuing a career in politics: a need for an ever-elusive likability while demonstrating competence and vision. This paper considers whether Harris skillfully leveraged gendered and racialized stereotypes to rally support for her own presidential campaign as well as the 2020 Democratic ticket. According to feminist scholar Audre Lorde, “Every Black woman in America lives her life somewhere along a wide curve of ancient and unexpressed angers.” True or not, the insistent trope of the angry black woman looms large in popular culture. Yet what is the political utility of anger? When can it be harnessed for political advantage and when is it a liability? From her star turn at the 2018 Brett Kavanaugh hearings, which prompted former President Donald Trump to remark, "And now, you have — a sort of — a mad woman, I call her, because she was so angry,” to her debate with Mike Pence, Harris deftly expressed her disdain through facial expressions and an insistence on the right to speak. Biden also framed her as an aggressor: "a fearless fighter for the little guy." This project considers whether a racialized acceptance of feminine anger offered an intelligibility to white voters who might otherwise be opposed to an assertive woman, as Harris fit well-established tropes about Black women’s aggression. However useful, anger must be tempered with reason and compassion for it to be successful, particularly for women seeking office. A longtime single woman with a record of high-profile romantic relationships, when she began her pursuit of the presidency Harris was recently married with an instant family, a stepmother known as Momala. Harris noted in 2019, “Of all the titles I’ve ever had, Momala is my favorite.” While a fierce advocate, she’s also a maternal figure securely nestled into a heteronormative framework. Discourse analysis of Harris’s speeches, campaign communications, and public reactions to her presidential run reveals the obstacles and opportunities facing Black women candidates.