Women in Politics and the Women Who Vote for Them
While I was browsing through google news, I came across this article about the difficulty which women face when they enter the political arena. We talked about this in class a few weeks ago, but this got me thinking about it again. Something which really caught my interest was this quote:
"Most of the male candidates running wouldn't be running if they were women. A woman John McCain's age would have a hard time, a woman with Barack Obama's experience would have a hard time."
The article also goes on to talk about how while women are more likely to vote for a woman because of her gender, they are also more critical of her than they would be a man. Female candidates are more likely to be evaluated on a personal level rather than on their ideas. I find myself wondering what this says about our society and what implications this carries for our future.
I also find it interesting to consider what the ramifications of voting the first woman into the presidency might be. I can't help but feel like she's going to be the model that every female candidate after her will be measured against. We practically deify George Washington and his deeds have taken on an almost legendary quality. If the first female President does a poor job or is viewed negatively once in office, will that shut the door for another 50-100 years for other women? If she makes the right decisions would it lead to an influx of female candidates and a restructuring of the political landscape?
Intriguing thoughts.
Comments
This is a very interesting post. I think there are many challenges that the first female president will face, and becuase she is the first I think to some extent you are right on. It is very scary for me to think about these things because I feel like our country needs female leadership so badly, and if the first women under represents what women can do for this country I think that it willl be a while again before another women runs. But at the same time we just have to take the gamble, because the first female could do some awesome things and show this country what we have been missing. At the same time idealistically, I would hope that all voters have the common sense to realize that one person does not represent a whole. But I am afraid there are a lot of people who do vote that are uninformed and sometimes just backwards. Anyways, I really liked your post, if made me think!
Posted by: Caitlin | May 1, 2007 8:36 PM
I also agree that this is an interesting post. I think that even if the first women president does an excellent job, she will still be critized for one thing or another. This even happens to male presidents. I'm not saying that what Clinton did in his private life was right, but as a president he did a good job, but all people look at concerning him is his scandal. I think the same thing would happen to a female president, though probably on a larger scale.
I also think that women in politics are held to a much higher standard when it comes to looks as well as personality. If a lot of the men in politics were judged on their looks, we have much different leadership.
Posted by: Steph F. | May 3, 2007 1:11 AM
I also think this is a very interesting topic. While reading thru it I remembered the time we had a guest speaker in class that talked about the language we used to talk or refer to women and men. When analyzing the different words we use we realized at the end that the words we used to refer to or describe a women were mainly about her personal appearance and behavior, while for men the words we use to describe them or talk about them has to do with what they do and not about their physical appearance.
For a woman to be able to reach presidency would be very difficult because it would break the tradition we have had for many years with only electing men for presidents. On top of that women are more criticized on how they look and how they act then men are. Even if a woman was elected she would have a hard time staying there because as we learned in class she would be strongly criticized on issues that a men wouldn’t and this creates a disadvantage for them.
Posted by: Leilani Rodriguez | May 7, 2007 11:35 AM