“Realizing that a growing portion of this country rejects any progress outside of what is white, male, and heteronormative is difficult to accept.”

Kimberly Ellis has been head of the San Francisco municipality department on the status of women since 2020. A lawyer, she led Emerge, the association to encourage women in politics inspired by Kamala Harris' first campaign in San Francisco in 2004. She ran – unsuccessfully – for president of the California Democratic Party in 2017 and 2019 to shake up the establishment and try to bring the party closer to the disadvantaged classes. She has accompanied Kamala Harris in her rise for twenty years.

What was your reaction to Kamala Harris' defeat?

I waver between a state of shock, deep sadness, anger and fear. Here, I am at the phase of mourning where I understand that, whatever stories or ideas one may, or could, have about America, the election reflects what the country is today. 'today. It's a rude awakening. We have worked for so long – almost two decades myself – to improve the situation of the marginalized, of those who have no voice, of those who have been historically oppressed, including women and girls, the members of our LGBTQ community, people living with disabilities, working classes…

Realizing that a significant – and growing – portion of this country not only rejects any progress outside of what is white, male, and heteronormative, but is willing to actively participate in advancing and strengthening an agenda regressive, it's really difficult to accept.

California will continue to be a beacon of hope. She will be at the forefront of the resistance that will have to be organized against this new regime. But the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wear and tear that this kind of resistance demands on a daily basis is more than many of us are willing to endure again.

Do you feel that what you represent is rejected by your country?

Absolutely. What this election has fully revealed is a toxic masculinity, opposed to a more inclusive vision of what America could be, to a more balanced conception of men and those who identify as masculine. The election shows a desire to return to a regressive and even violent interpretation of the place of women, with the aim of governing and exercising power without restriction.

Toxic masculinity is a deeply rooted phenomenon in American culture, so internalized that sometimes even those who are its victims perpetuate it. It’s no surprise that young men of color voted for Trump in greater numbers. It's sad, but not surprising.

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