General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: That blithering idiot called the former FLOTUS Crooked Hillary in front of the Lithuanian president. [View all]Ms. Toad
(33,999 posts)not as FLOTUS. Even though I am sure the sexism was initially unintentional, it no longer is.
As to Michelle Obama, I am not discussing omitting Michelle Obama's history at all. I am explaining why progressives fondness for FLOTUS masks the sexism of using that title when Clinton has served the public in both national and international capacities in the decades since then.
But their positions are not (yet, at least) equivalent. Clinton also graduated from one of the most prestigious law schools in the nation, and had a public and private career before serving as FLOTUS. Do you see me, or anyone else, suggesting you should refer to her using titles from that era? It is not the pre-white house era that elevated either of these two women to national prominence.
When Michele Obama has decades of post-white house experience, I hope we won't be having this conversation about whether it is appropriate to refer to her as the former FLOTUS, rather than whatever honorifics go with whatever she goes on to accomplish in the next 2 decades.