Law Schools

Has Harvard Law Always Been Filled With Sexist A-holes?

A story about a law professor that does not know best.

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Harvard Law School markerYou know, one of the supposed benefits of having Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president is that she has been in public life for so long and she has been so thoroughly vetted that there are no surprises left in her background. Well, color me surprised by a recent tidbit.

In an article in the Guardian, detailing all of the sexist bullsh*t that Hillary has had to deal with in her long career, they note, in particular, the crap she had to go through to be a lawyer. As you might expect, as a woman trying to get into law school in the 1960s, she faced negativity even taking the LSAT:

In a 1996 interview, Hillary recalled being harassed by men when she took the law school admission test. “What do you think you’re doing?” they chided. “You’ve got no right to do this. Why don’t you go home and get married?”

Don’t worry, she’s going to be a lawyer and beat you at the “finding a husband” thing too.

But she faced B.S. from more than just wannabes — turns out even well-respected legal academics got in on the horsesh*t bullying:

Despite this, she did well enough to be accepted to both Harvard and Yale. A friend introduced her to a bow-tied Harvard professor, saying she was trying to decide between his Ivy League university and its closest competitor. The professor looked down at her. “First of all,” he said, “we have no nearest competitor. And secondly, we don’t need any more women.” She went to Yale.

First of all… points for the Yale dig. I appreciate any well-developed school rivalry, and the cold nature of this put down is well played. But. But. We don’t need any more women?!??!?!? What the actual f*ck, dude.

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Good for Hillary that she had other stellar options and didn’t have to put up with this ignorant sh*t. Yale Law turned out to be a fine choice for her — she did fall in love with the future president there and the course of history was changed because of it.

This anecdote should be more than just cocktail party fodder. Sure, it’s nice (and easier) to believe/hope that these outrageous statements have been left in the past, but the truth is these attitudes shaped a generation of legal minds and those people are still out there leading the legal world. So yes, be horrified that this happened, but we know all too well that the seeds that were planted by a goddamn professor who couldn’t be bothered to have women in his classroom are still being reaped today; perhaps exposing some of the nasty origins can help break the cycle.

What will they call Hillary Clinton if she wins? [The Guardian (gavel bang @david_ingram)]

Earlier: You Won’t Believe This Law Firm Memo From The 1950s

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