COLUMN: A call for women’s unity
So I have a problem. I’m a woman. If you have taken offense to the previous statement chances are you are woman, too. You have the same problem. Allow me to explain.
Over the break I took a trip to the doctor. It was supposed to be a quick stop in visit to make sure things were going as they should. Unfortunately it did not turn out as such. I spent all of 10 minutes with my doctor, and a total of 60 minutes waiting for my doctor in the waiting room. Naturally to amuse myself during the wait, I started skimming through the offered reading material.
This being a family doctor’s office the selection was to be expected. There was some kind of cooking magazine featuring a Paula Dean cover and a charming recipe on how to turn cupcakes into the most charming little jack-o-lanterns you ever did see, complete with step-by-step pictures and a special section on easy frosting tips.
There was a weight-loss magazine whose buzz story was something about how to flip the flab off your buns with a special workout that only takes 12 minutes; the cover of which featured a faltering picture of some workout diva in her head-to-toe spandex and running shoes. And there was an old, pre-election edition of Newsweek with a cover story about Sarah Palin being a sad face for women in politics. With some sting of reluctance I picked up the copy of Newsweek. I figured old news was better than no news. Turns out I should have gone with the cupcake recipe.
The story on Palin was not the problem. It basically posed one question: if McCain should win, are American women ready to be represented by someone like Palin? Her image as the good old fashion hockey mom was the only reason she was there. That wasn’t a secret. Palin was allowed to tell her lipstick jokes and hockey mom stories in hopes of appealing to all the other good old fashion hockey moms out there and sending them to the polls to put a check mark in McCain’s box.
But like I said, old news. We know it didn’t work. McCain dangled his bait and America didn’t bite. Case closed. Right? For men, that’s right. But for women, that’s very very wrong.
Turn a few pages past the Palin faux pas and you get a little column by a female journalist who’s name slips my mind which, ironically, is an example of the point she was trying to make. Her whole point was although it may appear that women are gaining representation in what has always been a predominantly male run world, the truth of the matter is women are little better off than they were 20 years ago. She said women may be appearing on more television shows, popping up in more panel discussions and even showing up on a ballot now an again, but the reality is this: rich, white males are still pulling the strings on when and where and who.
While I whole-heartedly accepted this woman’s point of view, to the point where I was at that moment ready to slap the first man I saw silly simply for being male, I still harbored a troubling question: How did this happen? How could a group of people who had successfully fought for their rights less than a century ago be in a stand still, possibly even in a pattern of regression, today?
To me there is only one logical answer: Because we let it. Somewhere along the way women started living up to the low and often demeaning standards the world sets for them, and that was it. Women were stuck; stuck in a stereotype that portrays women as mindless flesh rather than the awe inspiring powerhouse of wisdom and leadership we are capable of. We let this happen, and we are the ones who have to stop it.
I know the task is daunting. There are a lot of things that need changing. Our image for one. The first woman the male universe deemed worthy of the White House was of the disconnected hockey mom variety, not someone praised for her understanding of policy or procedure, her strong knowledge of government or even her great plans for growth and progress, but rather for her bulldog attitude and her shade of lip gloss. That’s embarrassing.
For the record, this is not a knock on hockey moms. The American Dream is built on the back of these kinds of strong women, the kind that I admittedly hope to become one day. This is, however, a call to action. When men actually call women to the plate, we better be ready to hit one out of the park. There is no doubt that Sarah Palin struck out in this inning, which means the next time a woman gets a chance at the White House she’ll be met with even more booing from the crowd and a need to prove herself that much more.
This is also a call for unity, among anyone who supports the cause, but especially among women. Like the women of the 1920s who marched, who protested, who fought for their right to vote, we must band together and do the same. But this time it isn’t a battle against government, it isn’t a battle against business, it isn’t even a battle against men. This is a battle against an idea — the strongest thing in existence. It’s the idea that women aren’t good enough, and it’s time it was abolished. It’s time women were enough.
Mikaylie Kartchner is a graduate student in the instructional technology department. Comments can be sent to mikaylie.k@aggiemail.usu.edu.