Maiya Blumenthal

While she brands herself with the name “Kamala,” calling Harris “Kamala” is sexist.

Whenever I talk about politics with family or friends, I notice a worrying motif. While everyone I talk to calls former President Donald Trump “Trump,” Vice President Kamala Harris is primarily referred to as “Kamala” or “Kamala Harris,” but almost never simply “Harris.” In addition, while their campaign is Harris-Walz, Walz is almost never called “Tim.” When people call Harris by anything other than her last name, while calling male politicians by their last name, they perpetuate gender biases and make her seem less prominent. 

When I talked to a friend about my opinion on the matter, she told me that she calls Harris “Kamala,” or “Kamala Harris” because just saying “Harris” sounds like a man’s name. This, to me, points out inherent sexism in the election. Why do people believe that using a last name, something usually done to sound more professional, makes someone sound like a man? 

When Hillary Clinton ran for president, almost everyone I knew referred to her as “Hillary,” while her opponent, Donald Trump, was called by his last name. I’ve heard the argument that she used “Hillary” to distinguish herself from her husband, former President Bill Clinton, but both former Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush are commonly referred to as “Bush,” and I have yet to hear people concerned over their names being the same.

In fact, a study in the National Library of Medicine found that people are twice more likely to refer to a man by his last name, as opposed to a woman, in certain fields, including politics. Cornell did a similar study, and found similar results noting that famous women are sometimes called by their first and last name, while famous men are primarily referred to only by their last name. They discovered that this gender bias undermines a woman’s prominence by making it seem like the woman is not as important or deserving of recognition.

At this point, “Kamala” is part of Harris’ brand identity. “Kamala” is a lot more unique sounding than “Harris,” and she makes an effort to introduce herself as “Kamala” or “Kamala Harris.” Calling Harris “Kamala” shouldn’t be the norm, even if she has made it part of her brand because the deeper implication tells voters that she should not be taken as seriously  as Trump.

According to Politico, Harris uses her first name to send a message that she’s connected to and working for the people. Candidate for United States Representative, Lateefah Simon, who worked with Harris at the San Francisco district attorney’s office, told Politico that using “Kamala” over “Harris” appeals to women and communities of color because it serves as a reminder that she is just like them.

“Kamala’s name has [a] depth of meaning. It is an ethnic and cultural name. And it was given to her by her mother. Black people are more than our last names. Our last names don’t often tell the story of where we’re from and who we are,” Simon told Politico.

Despite having a good motivator for using her first name in her brand, I believe that the root of the reason why people refer to her as “Kamala” is not because of her branding.  Rather, it is a part of the sexist tendency of referring to women by their first names, or their first and last names, while only referring to men by their last names. I do not believe it is wrong, or misogynistic to at times refer to Harris as “Kamala,” as that is what she introduces herself as. Nonetheless, I highly encourage you to think about how we refer to Harris and other people in power, especially women.