If you had told me in 2020 that Alex Cooper was interviewing Vice President Kamala Harris on Call Her Daddy, I would have looked at you like you had two heads. But we’re living in a brave new world, and from my perspective, there’s no one I would rather hear talking about the future of women’s reproductive rights in the U.S. for 45 minutes than the pioneer of the gluck gluck 3000. This Sunday, Alex Cooper hosted 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Call Her Daddy to discuss the upcoming election, and it’s sent the Daddy Gang into a tizzy.
While some are criticizing Alex Cooper, who rarely covers politics on her sex-and-dating-focused podcast, for having Harris on her show, the interview yielded some pretty important takeaways. From revealing how Vice President Harris views the complex issue of women’s reproductive health to showing exactly why women’s media is always political, here are five takeaways from Alex Cooper’s interview with Kamala Harris.
1. Women’s reproductive rights are a crucial issue in the 2024 election.
At this point in election season, you’ve probably seen a lot of interviews with both candidates circulating on social media. However, it’s rare for an interviewer to focus on one single issue for their entire allotted time with a candidate. On Call Her Daddy, Alex Cooper broke that mold. Instead of asking Vice President Harris about her economic plans, her foreign policy positions, or her stance on climate change, Cooper centered her entire podcast episode on women’s reproductive health and autonomy. Aside from a brief conversation with Harris about her childhood, Cooper used Call Her Daddy as a platform for digging deep into Harris’s plans for protecting American women during her potential presidency.
Since Roe V. Wade was overturned in 2022 as a result of Donald Trump’s Supreme Court appointments, the gender gap has been widening. According to the New York Times, while race and class are still bigger factors in elections, gender is becoming an increasingly important indicator of how any given citizen will vote—which means that issues related to gender are more important than ever. By using her 45 minutes with the Vice President to solely discuss women’s autonomy, Cooper qualitatively showed what the numbers have indicated: reproductive rights are the most important issue in the 2024 election.
2. Kamala Harris understands that reproductive rights are not just about abortion.
When most news outlets discuss women’s reproductive rights in America, there is a huge focus on abortion. In particular, since Roe V. Wade was overturned, much of the discourse surrounding women’s reproductive health has been about whether or not a woman has access to abortion in her state. However, as women, we know that abortion, while important, is not the full story. For instance, Cooper asked Harris about her time as a prosecutor with a focus on sexual assault cases. When Cooper pointed out that one in three women has experienced some kind of sexual abuse in their lifetime, Harris responded, “Alex, thank you for talking about it, because part of the issue is that people don’t talk about it. And the more that we let anything exist in the shadows, the more likely it is that people are suffering silently.”
“Anyone who is shocked, confused, or upset that Alex Cooper hosted a presidential candidate who cares deeply about women’s reproductive rights on Call Her Daddy has not been listening closely enough.”
Throughout her interview on Call Her Daddy, Harris discussed issues of sexual assault, domestic violence, IVF and fertility treatment access, breast cancer screenings and pap smears, access to contraception, and chosen family. All of these issues fit under the umbrella of women’s reproductive rights—abortion is just one slice of the pie. On Call Her Daddy, Harris proved that she knows that women need the right to choose in more ways than one.
3. Kamala Harris knows that female economic empowerment is a part of women’s health.
Years ago, calling yourself “socially liberal but fiscally conservative” was a popular refrain. But in today’s super-divided political system, that won’t fly—and Kamala Harris knows it. These days, doing as much as possible to economically empower historically oppressed communities (including women) is essential to politics. In her interview on Call Her Daddy, Harris said, “One of the ways that we know we can uplift women to have choices is uplift the ability of women to have economic health and well-being.” Regardless of your religious beliefs or previous stances on women’s reproductive rights, you know this is true. The more financially empowered we are as women, the greater autonomy we have. Having a presidential candidate who recognizes that is incredibly refreshing.
4. Having a female presidential candidate is a huge deal—just not the way it was eight years ago.
Throughout her campaign, Kamala Harris has notably not played any identity “cards.” She has de-emphasized her identity as a woman of color in order to put greater emphasis on the identity of her opponent as a wealthy, white, male felon. This is in stark contrast to the first woman to receive a nomination for President of the United States, Hillary Clinton, eight years ago in 2016. Where Clinton wore suffragette white and talked of “breaking glass ceilings,” Harris has largely avoided topics related to her identity in interviews. In fact, in spite of the focus on women’s rights, she hardly discussed her own identity as a woman on Call Her Daddy.
Appearing on Call Her Daddy, a podcast that targets women with a listener base that is primarily female, is likely the biggest “gender card” Harris will play throughout her entire campaign. It shows just how much times have changed: Although it’s exciting to have another woman running for president, that’s not the only thing that’s exciting about Kamala Harris’s candidacy.
5. Just because Alex Cooper doesn’t usually cover politics doesn’t mean Call Her Daddy is apolitical.
Since posting her interview with Harris on Sunday, Alex Cooper has received massive backlash from fans and listeners who perceived Call Her Daddy as an apolitical podcast. However, just because Call Her Daddy is not about politics does not mean it is without political leanings. The messages that Alex Cooper has been sharing on Call Her Daddy for years—that women deserve to be sexually satisfied, that the modern dating scene is disempowering to women, and that women have the right to take control of their own narratives in the media—are inherently political messages.
Women’s media, especially women’s media that covers sex and relationships, is always inherently political. Cooper has been empowering her listeners to take control of their own sex lives for years, and there’s no reason why she would, or should, stop at the level of politics. Anyone who is shocked, confused, or upset that Alex Cooper hosted a presidential candidate who cares deeply about women’s reproductive rights on Call Her Daddy has not been listening closely enough.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Emma Ginsberg, Associate Editor
Emma is a writer, editor, and podcast producer who has been creating at The Everygirl since 2021. She writes for all sections on the site, edits the Entertainment and Community sections, and helps produce The Everygirl Podcast. With a degree in American Studies, Emma is especially passionate about evaluating the impact that pop culture and internet culture have on the day-to-day lives of real women.
