Gender Matters
August 31, 2008
Helen Aguirre Ferre makes it look so easy.
Helen is a journalist with Univision and Diario Las Americas, and last week in Denver I watched her interview literally dozens of people about all aspects of the Democratic National Convention.
She just engages people in conversation and they instantly begin to share whatever is on their mind and then some. They hardly realize they are being interviewed and they feel better about themselves when the conversation is over.
As I arrived here at the Manchester Airport for my flight to the Twin Cities, I realized that the first subject I need to blog is Sarah Palin and what she means to McCain and the Republicans in November.
The problem is I don’t know. I made a promise to myself when I decided to blog the conventions that I would minimize my exposure to what journalists are saying and writing about it all. I want to share, to the greatest degree possible, my reflections on what I observe and not be interacting with the conventional wisdom.
So I decided I’d do what Helen does. Front-line journalism. As I waited for my flight I sat down next to a woman and asked her opinion of McCain’s choice for VP.
The conversation went something like this. I led by asking,
“Excuse me are you heading out to Minnesota for the Convention?”
“No, I want to be as far away from there as possible.”
“What do you think of McCain’s choice for Vice-President?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I’m writing a blog for the convention, and I’m conducting some interviews on the subject.”
“What are you, a journalist?”
“In a matter of speaking.”
“You have a problem with her?”
“You mean Sarah Palin?” I replied.
“Of course.”
“No, I’ve not developed an opinion yet.”
“That’s what I hate about you journalists. You pretend you have no opinions and then you twist and distort the words of perfectly good people for your own ends. Let me tell you I think she is a terrific choice.”
“Why? Do you think she’d be a good commander and chief?”
“How the heck would I know? All I know is that she can’t be any worse that what we’ve got. She’s got five kids, she’s a Governor, she’s got a kid with Down Syndrome and a husband who is a Democrat, and she lives as far away as humanly possible from Washington, DC. What’s not to like? “
The interview took a turn for the worse when she asked me,
“Do you have a problem with a woman in the White House?’
“No, of course not.”
“Well why are you asking me this question. You men just can’t deal with a strong woman. Well let me tell you what this country needs is a strong woman. You want change, get a Hockey Mom. I’m a Hockey Mom, there’s a whole bunch of us that could do a better job than this group of losers.”
And then some other women came over and joined in the fun.
I excused myself to go to the bathroom.
Now, even as I write this entry, they are still talking and looking at me.
If the goal of the McCain Campaign was to get people talking about something other than Obama this weekend it is working. I just hope people will quit talking about me.
I still don’t have an opinion.
But when I get to Minnesota I’m going to let Helen ask the questions.
She makes it look so easy.
What kind of answer do you think that Helen would have gotten?
I have a problem with the public response to the issue Sarah Palin’s gender and what role that will have with women in politics. If she and McCain win this election and she becomes the first woman vice president, I will admit a victory for feminism. But only a small one. In more ways I think it is a defeat, and it is not inherently because of the office, but because of the public’s reception of the appropriateness for that office for a woman.
Many may disagree with me, saying it is a substantial position and that it is indeed the highest recognition a woman has thus far recieved. That does make it a victory, but not THE victory. This year the only woman with that opportunity was Hillary Clinton who would could have been a woman in power with no man above her. For if the McCain team wins it is just that: McCain, a man, wins. The McCain team and Palin, while VP, is still subordinate to a man.
What irks me is that both men and women alike seem comfortable with this order of rank. One could draw on psychoanalyitic theory and claim that because we all despise our mothers for reminding us of our once infantile helplessness, we want to dominate them. Hence a woman president is a fearful thought.
I see this attitude among almost every woman and man I speak with on the matter. Two women have taken on significant positions this season but the one who has the man to run things is the one who is received with open arms. Even in Hillary’s case, many who liked her thought in the back of their minds “At least Bill is there, just in case she can’t handle it”. But Hillary would have been more of a victory than Sarah, and thus is more of a threat. In my opinion it is why she is not the democratic nomination, among other factors.There is the reason so many sexist comments and insults were hurled at Hillary and not at Sarah: Hillary is an unorthodox woman. Sarah is a man’s woman. Sarah fits neatly into the image of what male virtue decrees a woman should be like: beautiful, a mother (a baby machine at that), a dutiful wife, and a dutiful Christian. That is the ideal 21st century American political woman. And for me, this is bad.
Palin is a woman who is breaking boundaries but is staying within the greatest boundaries of all: male virtue. Both men and women hold male virtue, and it is why a woman like Hillary had such polar responses. Hillary defies many of the conventions of male virtue: her one child is a reputed lesbian, she is accused of the same, she has short hair, her voice carries no submissive tone, everything about her screams strong minded, and that is not yet an accepted quality for a political woman to have.
Perhaps someday it will be. I will personally declare womenkind has reached their peak when the political counterpart of “Sex and the City’s” Samantha Jones win the presidency: a single woman who is liberated from convention and respected by both men and women alike for her ability to lead. In the meantime I hope anyone who hopes to empowers woman by now voting for McCain relaizes the folly of their action.