As a leading edge Boomer Dama, I had hoped as a nation we were at a point where national politics could rise above sexism and misogyny. Compassion, emotion and empathy are human traits which should be valued in all people – especially those running for national offices. I, as many of you, have experienced politics in many venues: the politics involved in our family structures, in our workplaces, places of worship, social circles, and in our communities. As a boomer woman in the corporate world for the last twenty plus years of my career, I worked with some extremely sexist people and it drove me crazy at times. Yet, I keep putting on my rose-colored glasses hoping to see changes in society regarding gender-typing in leadership for greater opportunities for women at the highest levels.
All this flak about Hillary’s emotions and how that may or may not influence her ability to make decisions is about to drive me to distraction. I have several granddaughters at this point in my life, and I cringe at how these attacks might influence them to avoid public service and the world of politics. I believe that female leaders from other countries must have shown some emotion during their tenure…..women such a Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, and Indira Ghandhi. The posting on The Pie-Eyed Picayune has some interesting comments on Margaret Thatcher’s show of emotions during her years as prime minister of England. I also enjoyed reading through the comments from men on Hillary’s emotions on the site HillaryNowObabmaLater.org. Tobin Horshaw shares some interesting thoughts along with over 100 bloggers in his New York Times Opinionator story Hillary Clinton’s Mixed Emotions. I truly do not understand what makes people attack others by designing such misogynist t-shirts as you will find for sale on Cafe Press.
David Crary, an AP National Writer, stated that “Beyond the back-and-forth between a white woman and a black man seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, the situation has created a snapshot of the nation’s sensitivity — or lack thereof — to certain kinds of comments. Is it more acceptable, for instance, to make a sexist remark than a racist remark?”
Political ideologies aside, as boomer women, are we interested in how politics affects women as they seek elected offices? We have all gained wisdom over the years from flower children to major contributors to society in many career paths. Do we have a role as mentors? Do we have a role in philanthropic endeavors to help women around the world to raise their level of expectations in the political environments in which they live?
Do you agree or disagree that women in politics is a relevant topic for the boomerdamas website? Take our survey on the importance of discussing women in politics. Your comments are encouraged to help us design the site that meets the interests and needs of our “prime time” women.
written by Cindi Flow \\ tags: 2008 presidential primaries, boomer damas, boomer women, emotions, gender typing, Golda Meir, Hillary Clinton, Indira Ghandhi, leadership traits, Margaret Thatcher, misogyny, sexism, women in politics, women mentors
January 15th, 2008 at 10:33 am
[…] BoomerDamas wrote an interesting post today on Tired of the Feeding Frenzy over Hillary’s TearsHere’s a quick excerpt I have several granddaughters at this point in my life, and I cringe at how these attacks might influence them to avoid public service and the world of politics….As a leading edge Boomer Dama, I had hoped as a nation we were at a point where national politics could rise above sexism and misogyny….Do you agree or disagree that women in politics is a relevant topic for the boomerdamas website?&…Political ideologies aside, as boomer women, are we interested in how politics affects women as they seek elected offices?&… […]
January 15th, 2008 at 11:16 am
[…] Read the rest of this great post here […]
January 15th, 2008 at 11:16 am
As someone who depends on the success of public education, I am much more interested in her track record as a Senator and her positions on relevant issues, than her gender. I agree that it is a disappointing, yet a typical, development in a high profile political campaign. Any time there is a real threat, the gloves come off and the fight is on. I’m hopeful that our society is as tired of these childish games as we are, and vote based on the facts, rather than on personal insecurities. I rank politics at an 8 as a focus area of the website. Integrating current and relevant news articles and information on the site will make it that much more appealing for me, and improve the odds that I’ll visit it daily for current events.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
The GREAT thing is that there is a FEMALE candidate with a REAL chance at becoming President of the USA. (finally)
The problem is that in this day of 24/7 coverage, there needs to be something, anything to talk about all the time. When my work load was reduced and I had more time to spend getting information regarding politics I was very disappointed to find out that there wasn’t very much out there. Despite the 24/7 coverage, it was still very shallow and the same info re-hashed most of the time.
Race and gender will be big topics this election whether we like it or not, but I still think it reflects a big gain for the country. It may also have a positive effect of waking some of the younger women up as to the bias that is still out there ~ just more underground than before!
January 18th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Cindi, I read your blog and found myself nodding. I often wonder if people realize how often the word “businesman” is used, and how exclusionary it is. I wonder how my daughter, who is 19, feels when she hears it. On a scale of 1-10, I would give women in political life a relevance score of 7. - Pam