New York women aren't known for being shrinking violets, which is why so many of them are wondering why Huma Abedin, the wife of New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, is willing to stand by her man during the latest wave of revelations about his online sexual relationships with women.
According to
The New York Times, while many women express sympathy for her predicament, others say they simply can't understand why the highly-educated and successful former aide to Hillary Clinton would be willing to subject herself to another round of humiliation and continue to support his candidacy.
Noebeth Toro, a 30-year-old New Yorker, said she understood why Abedin chose to stand by her man in 2011 when it first came out that he was sending sexually explicit messages to women online, but she was surprised she would defend him a second time.
"Fool me once, shame on you," Toro said to the Times, "Fool me twice, shame on me."
Even Gloria Steinem, the feminist activist, waded into the debate and suggested that she too was baffled at the factors motivating Abedin to continue to support him.
"I have no way of knowing whether Huma, for whom I have great respect, is responding out of new motherhood, the Stockholm syndrome, or a mystery," Steinem wrote in an email to the Times.
Others also say they feel uncomfortable witnessing her continued defense of a man whose behavior has humiliated her, particularly after the lengths she went to in last year's People Magazine interview and photo spread to assure people that her husband could be trusted and their difficulties were behind them.
"It's hard to watch her still encourage people to vote for him," Arita Balaram told the Times. "It's hard to watch this as a woman."
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