I don't know if any of you are aware, but... *gasp* a woman is running for president in America. Hillary Clinton, former First Woman, has decided to run for office. She has a very long list of policies, of course, addressing all the relevant issues in America. Including: her stance on gun laws, abortions, health care, immigration and many more. Sounds good right? Wrong.
Recently there has been a storm in the media due to the fact that she and Bill Clinton are soon to be grandparents. Apparently this is an awful thing to happen during her campaign? I get it though. How could a woman possibly run for president when she has something private and personal affecting her emotionally? Easily, that's how. Having a child herself might have been a different issue, that can actually take a toll on a woman's way of working, obviously it shouldn't stop them from running for political positions, or any positions for that matter, but it can change things. Becoming a grandparent, however, is not directly affecting her potential to change America so why do people have such a big problem?
My main argument for this being completely flawed as a reason to not run for office is this: She only has this "emotional stability" debacle because she is a woman. Many of the men who were running for office had grandchildren. Mitt Romney has millions of his offspring running around, unfortunately, but no one batted an eyelid. He was able to continue running against Gay Rights, but she shouldn't continue because she might break down in tears over something she is passionate about.
I am going to link you to a very comical video, but it does cover some serious issues. On the Daily Show, Jon Stewart has ten minute rants which I had never seen before. My friend had linked me to one of his topics labelled "The Broads must be Crazy" which was all about women in politics. If you want to see all of my opinions laid out in front of you, he hits the nail on the head.
Now lets talk about why women don't go into politics. This is where feminism comes back in. One of the main arguments against women not having the top positions is "Well they never run for it, you can't vote for what's not running" bullshit. Sorry, but before you start blaming women for not running why don't you consider the reasons behind women not running aka the way society deters them from doing so.
From a very young age, girls are taught to be passive and caring whilst boys are taught to be assertive and aggressive. One of the many ways they are taught this is through giving our children, the future of society, gender specific toys. When I was younger I played with Barbies and toy babies. I was given toy ovens and princess dress up kits, hell, my nick-name was even "Princess", as were a lot of girls, but the difference was, as soon as I decided to be a "tom boy" my parents didn't mind. On the other hand, my brother wasn't allowed to play with my Barbies, my dad didn't let him. My dad didn't let my brother be cuddled or comforted when he fell down. My dad didn't want him to "turn out gay" he wanted him to be "strong" and "manly" and this is what I saw happen. I saw my brother become another one of society's success stories. Now if we watch something sad and I cry, he doesn't, he makes fun of me because as far as he is concerned crying is a weakness. Having emotions is a weakness.
This is the problem women face in schools. The hidden curriculum is a way of subtly hinting that the girls are not supposed to be as assertive in their opinions. They are supposed to do what they are told and when they do they slip under the teacher's radar. When they are out in the playground, if a girl takes control she is labelled as bossy, but she is expected to listen to the boys because it is more acceptable for them to be loud. These issues continue all through compulsory education. I would argue since joining college that has not been as big of an issue for me, but by then it is too late for some people. Some people remain ignorant to the way these gender roles have been indoctrinated into our everyday lives.
If ,by any chance, a woman does get into a powerful enough place in politics, she is often slated by the media, another male-dominated area, for all kinds of things. The one that really stands out for me though is when she takes a stand or makes an order she gets labelled. Labelled "bossy" just like in school. Her arguments and opinions are all undermined by one word, she can't fight against that either because then she is "PMSing" and "isn't in control of her emotions".
What is the world coming to when a woman can't express her opinions openly and freely? When she can't have grandchildren lest she be emotionally affected by the change in her life? When a woman in power is a rare occurrence?
Thank you for taking time to listen to my argument and, as ever, feel free to comment your own opinion on this controversial issue and ask any questions you may or may not have. I will do my best to answer them all.
Until next time,
Stephanie
The Daily Show: The Broads must be Crazy
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