RNC's Anti-Hillary Buttons Are Sexist (Surprise!)

The Republican National Convention has certainly gotten off to an interesting (and by most accounts disastrous) start. The convention floor erupted over a rules fight by mid-afternoon on Monday, and by the day's end, (pretty damn obvious) allegations of plagiarism dogged Melania Trump's would-be closing speech. But if that wasn't enough to commemorate the occasion so far, you can also leave the Cleveland event with one of these blatantly sexist RNC buttons. Because nothing quite says the RNC like a button calling Hillary Clinton a bitch.

The buttons are, of course, just a stab at adding a humorous (see: sexist, racist, xenophobic) spin to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's already deeply problematic platform. They feature phrases like "KFC Hillary Special: 2 Fat Thighs, 2 Small Breasts, Left Wing" and "Life's A Bitch — Don't Vote For One," with Clinton's face contorted in the center. Some of the sexism is a little more subtle: "Hot Chicks For Trump," reads another button. But the underlining message behind a majority of the pins is clear, of course: don't vote for Clinton because she's a woman, and in Trump's world, women are "fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals." Unless they're hot, which then means they are totally into him.

These buttons are nothing new, and fall in line with a history of blatantly sexist merchandise peddled by conservatives and liberals alike. As TIME reports, sexist propaganda targeting Clinton has become commonplace in this election cycle, and merchandise denouncing the candidate as a "bitch" is sold on both sides of the aisle.

The magazine spoke with a St. Louis nurse who, despite planning to vote for Clinton in the general election, still has made a profit off of pandering to this political brand of sexism. Her Etsy shop carries pins that say "Vote Monica 2016: I Got The 'Job' Done, When Hillary Couldn't" and shirts with Monica's face that read "Good Luck, Hillary — Don't Blow It!" TIME also points out that Clinton's former primary rival from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, also had some supporters engage in sexist commentary, wondering if people were "voting with their vagina" when they threw their support behind Clinton.

So it comes as no surprise that Trump's particular brand of misogyny, having also seeped into parts of the Democratic Party narrative, found its way into the RNC merchandise. People want to wear their sexism proudly on display.