It is even plausible to argue that there is feminist-friendly news buried in the recent headlines. One reason why younger women did not coalesce behind Mrs Clinton in the same way as their mothers must surely be that they have simply become accustomed to living in a world of opportunities. On Super Tuesday, for example, Mr Obama did very well with women under 30, while Mrs Clinton won easily among women over 60. Convinced that they will see a woman in the White House during their lifetimes, they did not feel the same “fierce urgency of now” (to borrow a phrase from Mr Obama) as 70-somethings like Ms Steinem.
In her idiosyncratic way, Mrs Palin also represents the fulfilment of the feminist dream. She demonstrates that gender is no longer a barrier to success in one of the most conservative corners of the land, the Alaska Republican Party. She also proves that you can be a career woman without needing to subscribe to any fixed feminist ideology. Camille Paglia hails her as the biggest step forward for feminism since Madonna. One can argue, as we have, that it was astoundingly reckless of Mr McCain to have picked her on the basis of having once met her for 15 minutes. But if feminism means, at its core, that women should be able to compete equally in the workplace while deciding for themselves how they organise their family life, then Mrs Palin deserves to be treated as a pioneer, not dismissed as a crackpot.
[blockquote] while Mrs Clinton won easily among women over 60. Convinced that they will see a woman in the White House during their lifetimes, they did not feel the same “fierce urgency of now [/blockquote]
My mother, born in 1925, had about all the opportunity that she could handle. She will always be my hero. Anything that the feminists would challenge a person to do would be a step down from what my mother actually did.
The feminist triumph would be that the voters would, this November, vote for the best candidate available – irreguardless of gender. As I have been accused of being a misogynist at times, I am amazed that I can definitely say that I can ignore gender, in this election, better than the author of the subject article.
Don
The female general in charge at Abu Ghraib hid under her desk when it exploded in her face. The female athletic director at the Univ. of Washington had a meltdown and was fired when the university had to pay out $4.5 million to Rick Nieuheisel whom she santimoniously reprimanded without foundation. Women in charge are not always what they are cracked up to be, so they need all the degrees they can gather to legalistically hold the job. Hence, they gravitate to college campuses, foundations where they can be in control – they are less than 1% of CEO’s in Fortune 500 companies – is that the good old boy network or simply survival of the fittest ? David Booth Beers is the mouth of Katherine the PB.