What Have We Learned?
Carol brought up a very good point (see previous blog comment) — If Hillary’s campaign made 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, then why is it still intact? That thing must be miles deep.
Lois described the many ways in which the Clinton campaign and Clinton herself reminded us how to deal with those who would hold women back.
Yet she didn’t win. She did all those things right and didn’t win. As Deborah Tannen has written, so much of what she said, did and wore was “marked” — commented upon, ridiculed, taken as indicators of weakness or inconsistency.
What does this teach us? Does it really tell our daughters that they can be whatever they want to be?
Many women (not just Democrats) feel that something very unseemly and uncivil has taken place. Many young women have been inspired by Clinton, but hopefully made more wary as they pursue their careers. They should be wondering if some of what women before them accomplished at great sacrifice is being undone?
We do indeed walk a thin pink line in any job and we’ve seen that there are a vast number of people who want to keep it that way — not just in the media. In this sense, we’ve been shaken hard — reawakened to snakes in the grass we considered harmless.
Hillary Clinton showed us how to fight back, those who despised her for her gender showed us that they are very much still around.
TAGS: Feminism, gender and leadership, Hillary Clinton, sexism, the thin pink line
As an outsider (Canadian), I thought it was a win-win for the Democrats: a choice between a woman or a man of colour? Either way, they have shown that times are changing and there is room at the top for more than just white males, and that is progress. It will be an interesting race and may the best person for the job win.
Comment by Patricia — June 10, 2008 @ 9:19 pm
I resonate deeply with the recent observations of Lois, Kathleen and Carol. The “eighteen million” cracks comments will stay with me for a long time. I am a deeply optimistic person but I have been surprised by how Hilary was treated. I do believe that Hilary in the end brought the “gender” issue to the forefront in a manner that will do lasting good for women twenty to thirty years younger. As Hilary conceded to Obama, I was on a family vacation for my niece’s high school graduation. At her graduation party, I met a man (over 50) who thoughtfully summed it all up as follows: He said that in looking back at what Hilary did and how she reacted that he is sure if she were a man that there is no question that she would be the nominee right now. There are many women in their twenties that are learning from this situation and planning their futures accordingly. And, given how close Hilary came, I am thinking that they are believing they can be president.
Comment by mac — June 12, 2008 @ 2:39 am
I am admittingly a conservative and no fan of Hillary or Obama. That said, I believe we have an absence of leadership choices given by either party who are qualified or capable of leading our country. I think the first woman president will be elected when she is the best choice and runs on her leadersihp quality and not her gender.
Comment by Scott — July 11, 2008 @ 10:11 am