Gender in Politics
I read an interesting article posted earlier today regarding gender in the international sense of politics. In the French presidential race, an attractive socialist feminist named Segolene Royal was defeated. The article, titled "Is Gender a Real Disqualifier?" indicates that some Republicans are using this case as evidence that Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign is doomed.
The author, Marianne Means argues that this type of argument is completely bogus. She argues that the only thing that Royal and Clinton share is their gender. As Means describes, Clinton displays the "man-like" qualities that make her a viable candidate here in the U.S. She has "a command of the issues and a steady policy hand that demonstrates she is tough enough to run the country." The remaining portion of the article bashes Bush and spews propaganda about the Iraqi war.
Although the second half of the article is fairly useless and completely unrelated, the first half of the article has much to say. I found it interesting that gender considerations in politics are stretched as far as they are. Consider the argument here: a female French candidate faced a losing campaign, and therefore the female candidate running here in the U.S. won't see success either. The simple fact that this debate is in the media is ridiculous. This type of logic only draws attention to a non-existent issue, that of gender in politics. In such a race, the voting public shouldn't consider a candidate's gender as an issue. A candidate's platform, personal stature, and other USEFUL elements seem to be left in the dust as we listen to our media explain to us how race or gender fit into the picture.
With so much attention put on race or sex, it is no wonder that our society has a hard time seeing past these qualities in other aspects of life. No matter where you fit into the political spectrum, I suggest that you look beyond such problems, see past the media's reports of race and gender, and focus on the issues facing our nation today.
Race, class, gender and sexuality are an important consideration. We need to be continually pushing to research, study and provide equal access to opportunity for all. The problem with these considerations occurs when they overwhelm our consideration of things such as political candidates. We lose focus on the end goal, that of choosing the most qualified candidate for some of our most important national considerations.
http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070511/NEWS/705110314/-1/COMMUNITIES
Dan Schoppe