Ellen Goodman is my role model

See related coverage about the last post here and here.

It's not nice to mock women in general...

Not related to health at all, really, but I read this piece today in the Houston Chronicle by nationally syndicated columnist Froma Harrop. I thought it touched on a couple of really nice points about women in politics.

Harrop writes, in response to Clinton winning the N.H. primary:

You could feel the swell of female angst. It wasn't even about Hillary Clinton. It was about what she was put through. It was about running while female.

The Democratic race for president was supposed to herald a new era for blacks and women in politics. What became clear was that for the African-American, it is the 21st century. For the woman, it is 1955.

...

Towering over the personal attacks was the monstrous double standard. The woman was the diligent worker, studying the minutiae of health care, terrorism and taxation, but portrayed as an over-the-hill broad, who every 10 minutes had to answer a question about why people didn't like her.

...

By Tuesday, the broads had had enough. Seeing that it had become socially acceptable to mock mature women, they were determined to prove that it was not politically acceptable. Many of their daughters joined them.

My mom told me the other day that she was watching Fox News (please don't ask me why) and as their scrolling headline, they had "Iowa voters don't vote for Hillary because she sounds like a nagging wife." I mean, that's disgusting. And, I realize it's Fox -- not exactly the most enlightened news network -- but really, what were they thinking?

Women have a particularly difficult time in politics, because of the subconscious double standard we hold women to. To be seen as a leader, you have to be bossy. To be a bossy women, is to not be a leader, but a bitch. And it's not just men that hold women to this unattainable standard, I've heard women do it, too.

I think Hillary is amazing because she has somehow managed to navigate this very fine line so well as to be on her way to becoming president. In fact, I like that she's bitchy/bossy. It says something really great about her. She gives a shit enough to buck societal expectations. Way to go Hill, you've got my vote.