At a fund-raiser concert on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s campaign on April 9th at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, British pop star Elton John said he was amazed at the misogyny of some in America. He had reached that conclusion hearing about all that was written and talked about in the media about Hillary Clinton. Many of the senator’s opponents deride these comments as being made by a foreigner and several epithets describing the singer have been used. It is sad that in America, in the 21st century, we have arrived to this point. Because I don’t think we can deny that the country is having a great difficulty with the idea of a woman as president. I don’t dispute that some people prefer McCain or Obama to Clinton for pure ideological or political convictions, after all that is what a democracy is about. I also strongly believe that many of the accusations thrown at Clinton have nothing to do with her competence or lack of it in her pursuit of the presidency. The derogatory and some times inflammatory comments – and not just on the blogs but in the established media – go from her way of dressing and her looks to others more damaging. In many instances, they are nothing else than pure hatred of the possibility of having a woman as a commander in chief. And yet we continue to call ourselves citizens of the greatest country on earth!
Let me make just some comparisons with just two other countries, Spain and France, because being in my ‘backyard’ at the moment I know well what goes on there. Spain has just gone through a political election and as such Zapatero, the president elected, has presented his new cabinet: eight men and nine women. Not any fear of women there…specially if you think that the new defense minister (the equivalent of the secretary of defense in the US) is now a 37 years old woman and the vice president is also a woman. That in a country which has always been renowned for its’ machismo. If we go to France, another male oriented country, of the 15 members in Sarkozy’s cabinet, seven are women. By the way, the defense minister is also a woman.
What is the matter with the US then? Why is the idea of a Madame President so hard to accept?
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tavira2009 April 24, 2008 at 5:32 am
Hello,
When gender role reversal has taken place in the United States, there may well be a colony of humans residing on Mars. The notion of a female head of state running the company is far fetched at best.
Surely, an American advert showing a male doing the dishes, changing the baby diapers, and baking the perfect casserole will do as much to realign the American mindset as the possibility that Hollywood would dare to portray female roles with intelligence and self-determination. As the media changes so to will the mass market that drives the attitudes of the American voter. But don’t hold your breath because American women have to get with the programme as well. ‘Stand by your man’ women are more common than one might imagine.
Andrew
R Young April 24, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Surely, it cannot be that bad?
Though if we go by Hillary Clinton’s example, she really did not have it (or has it) easy. Some years ago she was vociferously attacked by “standing for her man” when many Americans believed they should be the ones deciding whether the Clintons should stay together or not. She got my admiration by doing what she thought it was good for her family. And now she is being attacked by trying to become commander in chief.