Sarah Palin: Settling for the face of feminism while trading in its soul
August 31st, 2008
By JILL MILLER ZIMON
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American Princess writes on BlogHer and on her own blog. I’m not that familiar with it, but I spent a few moments there this morning. I like what I found - even though I disagree with it. If I were a conservative woman, particular in her generation (let’s just say I could be her mom - I’m finding I could be the mom of a lot of women who let me befriend them lately though!), I can imagine making very similar arguments in favor of Sarah Palin. Hattip to Denise for linking.
In her posts about Palin, American Princess deploys the debate points I’d make if I thought even for one minute that I could support Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate. But Sarah Palin and I differ on pretty much every single issue (i.e., I’m pro-choice, I believe that creationism is a fabricated construct intended to get religion into the public schools, I’m anti-gun, I’m against drilling in ANWR, and I have ideas about what vice presidents do), so this is a no-brainer for me: on the issues alone, I wouldn’t be voting for her, even if I lived in her hometown of Wasilia or her home state of Alaska, let alone as a VP candidate on the GOP ticket.
That said, the danger in accepting as acceptable all the arguments that American Princess makes in favor of Palin as a totally awesome, appropriate and best selection for the USA’s vice president, following in the footsteps of people like Dick Cheney, Al Gore, Walter Mondale and even George Bush the first, exists in what it means from here on out:
Recognizing, allowing and granting women success when they push for what women like myself have always believed was worth pushing for and using as debate points with employers, when looking for work after having children and claiming that being on the PTA and raising kids more than prepares us for leadership in pretty much any sector:
That those experiences do matter.
However, my gut and other evidence suggests that while the Palin Pick may be the face of feminism, it is a face that is completely detached from the soul, which would make and champion this argument of what, in a life experience, matters, and when.
In real life, not the life of John McCain trying to get elected, when women argue the value of the PTA to potential employers, they get “pffft.” I know. I had this happen to me late last fall. It was absolutely demoralizing, insulting and wrong - to have my literally decades of service and accomplishments - in paid and unpaid roles - consider to be nothing - absolutely nothing, because I have not been employed except as a freelancer, since 2000.
So, if I believed that having Sarah Palin on the GOP ticket would mean that from here on out, we will be giving the political party structures, and every other sector that needs leaders, hell every time they pfffft at the PTA and city council experiences mothers (or fathers for that matter) bring to the table, and we could say, “But look what John McCain said was enough!?,” and the employers would crumble and fall and say, “Ah, yes! Of course!” and women would start to succeed over the pfffts, and women like American Princess would continue to help fight this battle for all the parents who serve on PTAs and city council and have to fight to have those experiences recognized as valuable, then hey - I would love this pick too, even though, as I said, I don’t side with Palin on the issues.
Thing is, of course, that the breaking of the ceiling for women with Palin-like experience is not what this choice is about.
This choice is about helping the man, about getting John McCain elected and not about helping parents who juggle and debate and decide to swap board meetings for PTA meetings. Remember that when Palin references Hillary Clinton’s 18 million cracks, Clinton made those cracks because she was going for the top, not because she was asked to help a man get to where he wants to go.
No one but those trying to make sense of the Palin Pick have even tried to argue this angle - that now America must accept what women like myself have always known: serving on the PTA and raising a family absolutely provides you with great leadership skills and experience.
Why isn’t anyone making that argument?
In part because, serving on the PTA and raising a family does not qualify you for being vice president of the United States. In fact, the Palin Pick actually has the potential for knocking women off the ladder and not propelling them through the ceiling because every time a woman now steps forth to say, “But look! I have what she has!” and still doesn’t get the offer, or the raise or the promotion, we are back where we started.
Finally, does anyone honestly believe that the GOP - or anyone else - will now and forever come forward and offer leadership roles to women with the exact same modicum of experience as Palin, and ask them to bring it on and challenge and get support from those ahead of them when they do challenge?
For example:
Bobby Jindal, age 37, newly elected Louisiana governor - which women would the GOP support against him?
Kevin DeWine - would the Ohio GOP support any female Republican with the resume of a Sarah Palin against him?
John Boehner - the Ohio GOP going to support small-town Ohio female GOP mayors against him?
Or Chris Redfern, the Ohio Democratic Party chair - any women being supported right here right now for that job? I know many women who have as much experience as he has, certainly in comparison to the Palin Pick over the other VP potentials.
If Sarah can be selected over numerous individuals like Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, why not other small-town mayors with the same experience as Palin over individuals like those named above, for far less sweeping roles than vice president?
Because Palin is not on the ticket as a prod to move in the direction I just described, and no one is having her tout the fact that PTA members are good enough, experienced enough and doggone it electable or employable enough to be selected for all kinds of leadership roles.
I don’t know as much about feminism as pretty much all the other women on the feminist listservs I follow, but I’d rather that Hillary tried and fell short than Sarah Palin provide nothing more than a face without a soul that gets ahead.
This entry was posted on Sunday, August 31st, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Family, White House, Women, Newsweek Blogitics, Vice President, Sarah Palin, Leadership, Joe Biden, Elections, Society, 2008 Elections, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, Sexism, Politics. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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