| | I was thinking about the contrast between Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton as women in politics, and in relation to Rand's infamous proclamation that a woman president:
"By the nature of her duties and daily activities [...] would become the most unfeminine, sexless, metaphysically inappropriate, and rationally revolting figure of all: a matriarch."This idea of Rand's that the requirement of ultimate command and authority over others, including all men, would necessarily result in the loss of femininity is an interesting one, even though I disagree with it. Nevertheless when you look at someone like Hillary Clinton or a number of other women in Congress, you might begin to wonder if there wasn't some truth to the observation! However, with the view we have been given so far of Sarah Palin, this is certainly not the case. She is presented as an effective leader; a fighter capable of tangling with the entrenched powers; a physical being of sports and hunting; all while retaining and projecting one of the strongest feminine images on the political scene. She pursues here accomplishments, while at the same time acting, with all apparent success, in the capacity of mother and wife.
While I agree with many of the observations made by other that her appeal comes from, among other things, the conveyance of a basic honesty and authenticity, I also believe that the projection of her femininity is another, and possibly greater asset. Not because of the sensuality (which she certainly has), but because she demonstrates that a strong woman placed in a position of power does not have to become a matriarch. While I think few people would be able to formulate a conscious understanding of the issue involved, I believe that there may be a collective sigh of relief by both men and women across the country to see someone like Sarah stand up and demonstrate that she can be comfortable performing her duties without having to shun her lipstick or a skirt. I think we experience this sense of relief because the underlying message is that we too, both men and women, can be comfortable with our own sexuality in the professional arena.
Because women have had to fight for well over 100 years for equal rights and treatment in what was a patriarchal society, it has resulted in a somewhat antagonistic standoff between the sexes in the workplace. While certainly not necessarily applying to any specific individual, I believe that a great number of women have decided that they must adopt the style and techniques of men if they are to compete successfully in a male-dominated business/political world. This has resulted in their feeling a need to suppress their natural femininity (e.g., Hillary). Conversely, in an attempt to reign in admittedly bad behavior on the part of men (in other words, those that Teresa would affectionately call "dogs" ;-)), we have resorted to sexual harassment laws which put men on notice that they must suppress their bad nature or else face the consequences. I'm sure that this has also had a somewhat chilling effect on the non-dogs, resulting in the need to self-monitor ones natural actions and words out of a fear of not simply being misinterpreted, but of having to face legal repercussions. In both cases, the result is the inability to act openly and naturally with regards to one's sex. In Sarah Palin, we seem to see a woman for whom none of this is an issue, and I suggest that this taps into core within men and women alike, who yearn for a world where their natural masculinity or femininity is not challenged - it simply is. (*)
I believe that 2008 is truly a watershed moment in history. With Barack Obama running for president and having a real chance of winning, it symbolizes the increasing impotence of racial barriers in our country; not yet a KO, but certainly the death knell. And with Sarah Palin, I have hope that she may similarly act to symbolize the success of the feminist movement as well as the beginning of its end, leading to an easy and open acceptance of our sexuality as just another attribute with no more political significance than the color of our skin.
Getting back to Rand's observation, I don't have enough information at this point to truly know just how effective Sarah Palin would be as President, but I certainly have no difficulty imagining her in that position while remaining the same person we saw on the stage at the RNC - an admirable, fully-realized woman.
Regards,
--
Jeff
P.S.: In discussing these observations with my wife, while finding them interesting, she thought that they represented a male perspective - without being able at the time to articulate further what exactly she meant. I am very interested to hear other people's perspective on this, but especially from the women.
* Of course a similar argument could be made for all gender-related issues such as homosexuals, lesbians, etc.
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