As a woman, I'm finding it frustrating that the first or second word pundits use to describe Palin is "hot" and "attractive." You would never say that about a male candidate. I'm certainly not a femininst, but that kind of talk is demeaning to me.
It's also in poor taste for another reporter I heard say that he's glad to finally have someone who wears a skirt and not a pantsuit. Again, would those types of commentary on clothing ever be said about a man?
As a mom, I am also not fond of the discussion that's starting about how she should stay at home and raise her disabled and troubled kids. We already carry so much guilt as moms...especially when it comes to working and not working. It's bad enough when your family and friends question your decision, but imagine having to answer to an entire nation. Would I be running for vice president if I was in her position? Probably not. But I respect her decision
I guess those 18 million holes in the glass ceiling didn't really mean much.
8 comments:
The way I see it is that she has a husband who will help care for the kids... I don't question her ability to lead because of her family...
I don't find it quite so appaling that someone would remark that its nice to see a woman in a dress instead of a pantsuit... I would assume that they are associate skirts with women being comfortable leading as women and not feeling they need to be extra tough. I'm not saying its accurate, but I don't find it offensive as some.
I could not make the choice she has, however, each woman - each mother knows what is best for her and her family. No doubt she discussed this at length with her husband and children. I checked out the McCain Blogette and there are some great pics of her snuggling with her baby. It seems that we are judging her decision based on the view through OUR glasses. There are mothers who are deployed to Iraq, there are mothers who work 3 24s at the Fire Department, there are mothers who are case workers, doctors and a million other jobs that require significant sacrifices of time. It's a little unfair of us to judge her for wanting to make the world a better place for those 5 kiddos that we're afraid she's "abandoning". Her oldest son is facing deployment to Iraq, her daughter is facing a hard row to hoe with a young family - and certainly that raises questions about government assistance. Oh and the littlest one, with Down's Syndrome? There's a lot that could be done for people with disabilities. Maybe trying to make positive changes for this country and this planet is what she sees as the best she can do for her children.
Oh - and the skirt thing? When was the last time a newscaster say that particular pair of dockers made Mitt Romney's tooshie look good - or that jacket Obama was wearing really made him look hot.
I deleted my earlier comment because number 1 it came out way harsher then I meant it to, and number 2 I decided to add some details in an actual post regarding this topic.
http://melissa-ohmyword.blogspot.com/2008/09/straddling-fence-on-this-one.html
I just did a post about Palin and being a mom - you may be interested:
http://myinnerbitsy.com/?p=552
My bloggy friend, Trish, at Another Piece of the Puzzle told me about your site - I'm glad she did, I love it! Great job!
While it may be harder for a woman to run because she seems to take even more hits than a man (I don't think anyone is really questioning whether Obama can afford so much time away from his family or judging his clothing or the way his children behave)I also think that someone commenting that they're glad to have someone finally wearing a skirt actually is appreciating a woman that can lead and be a powerhouse WHILE embracing her femininity instead of trying to be just like a man. I actually do appreciate Palin's femininity - not because I'm some kind of sexist, but rather glad to see someone embracing that God made her female AND strong and capable! (So I agree with Laura above...). I DO think it's disrespectful and inappropriate to be referring to her as "hot", and simply unnecessary to discuss whether she's attractive or not.
And yeah, the "18 thousand cracks" talk...well, we're still working on breaking through. It takes some time to get a wheel that's been spinning the wrong way for too long actually stopped before you can really get it going the right way. Maybe it just shows where we are truly at - and maybe it's not where we'd like to think we are.
There are pleanty of Stay-at-Home moms who have daughters who get pregnant before they marry. (I should know.) When, oh when, will we stop blaming parents for the problems their kids have?
You know I am getting tired ofT the media continuing to say that Sarah Palin will neglect her five children by having an outside career. Her oldest is in the military. Her second oldest is apparently about to get married. So shouldn’t they be narrowing that number down to three? I don’t think her son who’s getting ready to go to war in the Middle East needs his mom at home still.
I mean really...
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