I'm tired tonight. Tired of work, tired of feeling like women are second-class.
My boss is an African American male who told me years ago that we would have a minority male President before we'd have a woman because our country is more sexist than racist. I was shocked then but not anymore. Don't get me wrong-I like Obama-and if there wasn't a smart woman running for President I'd be pulling for him 100%. But it's sad to me that half of America's population has never been represented unlike England, India, Sweden, and so many other countries who have had women CEOs.
I grew up in Iowa where girls were groomed to marry well. My mother encouraged us to attend college to meet husbands and prepare for practical jobs like nursing and teaching in case our spouses died, but as soon as we had babies we were expected to quit work and stay home. Purposefully I didn't learn how to cook or sew or type so I wouldn't be able to fall back on those traditional skills. (I have regretted not paying attention to typing in the past-thank God for computers).
I love babies but the thought of staying home all day while my husband got to be in the outside world seemed very confining. I used to argue with my mother about women's liberation in the 70's --she didn't understand why I wanted to go to UC Berkeley when I could just marry the town's rich boy. But I was the school's first "girl" president of the junior class and dreamed of something beyond this small town.
I watched old movies with working women like Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford, and Katherine Hepburn and longed for the day when I would take the world by storm. My Aunt Ruth, my mom's sister, was an inspiration in the 70's. She worked at her store until she was 88 and would frequently tell us that things had changed so much, "It's a woman's world."
The world is changing, but slowly. I am so happy (and jealous) that my nieces are active participants in sports when my only option was cheerleading. Unlike me, my nieces avoided the 5th grade drop in math grades that scientists have shown so many young girls experience at puberty. And they have no problem with attending the prom with a group of gals, rather than waiting for a boy to ask them-or the right boy. But they also worry too much about their looks, their weight, and what boys think about them. I still hear comments from college women that they don't have to study--just marry well.
I never thought I'd see a woman and an African American male vying for the Democratic nod for President and in a way it's an embarassment of riches. On the other hand I just wonder if my boss is right and whether there will ever be a woman in the White House.
Young women especially don't seem to understand what feminists went through to get this far. They scoff when I say I want a woman in the White House-no matter what- which makes me really sad. They don't realize how far women have come in just 30 some years and how the tides could turn or the strong symbolism of a woman in charge.
I'm still frustrated in meetings when I have a good idea and it's ignored until a man says the same thing and then it's considered brilliant. If women get angry they're hystercial while men are strong leaders. I loved Tina Fey's riff on Saturday Night Live and couldn't agree more. If you're not a bitch you can't get anything done.
Guess I'll quit bitching and go to bed.
Monday, February 25, 2008
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