Hillary Clinton reveals to 'Humans of New York' what it takes to be a woman in politics

Hillary Clinton has been loudly criticized for looking like a robot, acting emotionally distant and committing the terrible sin of "failing to smile."

While some of that criticism feels sexist, a new interview in Humans of New York crafts an explanation for this perceived behavior. In multiple stories published Wednesday, Clinton explains that she had to learn how to "control her emotions" in order to be successful as a woman in politics.

"I had to learn as a young woman to control my emotions," Clinton said. "And that's a hard path to walk. Because you need to protect yourself, you need to keep steady, but at the same time you don't want to seem 'walled off."

Clinton said that if she does come across as removed, she takes responsibility, even though she thinks of herself as open.

"I don't see myself as cold or unemotional," the post continues. "And neither do my friends. And neither does my family. But if that is sometimes the perception I create, then I can't blame people for criticizing that."

During Wednesday's Commander-in-Chief forum, Clinton was criticized by GOP Chairman Reince Priebus for appearing angry and defensive and failing to "smile" during the event.

Can a U.S. president really be effective without a special twinkle in the eye?

Here's the initial story below:

In a subsequent piece, Clinton explains that she knows she's not like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. If she were to shout or use her hands, some might criticize her for being "too emotional:"

"I've learned that I can't quite be so passionate in my presentation. I love to wave my arms, but apparently that's scary to people. And I can't yell too much. It comes across as 'too loud' or 'too shrill' or 'too this' or 'too that," Clinton told Humans of New York.

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