Sarah Palin Sexism Watch: This is true, I think

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

This is true, I think

The issue of two-parent working families is handled far better and with a lot more fairness in the following column than it has been in others... I also like how this column by Eileen Gunn does not devalue the contribution of Todd Palin to his family. This column is an example of how this issue COULD be discussed without gotcha bad mommy! sexism.

Of course, Palin's family matters have no relevancy to Palin's ability to lead, it's really none of our business how she and Todd balance family with career, and the questions aren't asked about male politicians (even those with working wives).

I wonder how Sarah Palin does it all.

Or more accurately, I wonder how Sarah and Todd Palin do it all.

Let's face it: You don't get where Sarah Palin has without a dependable and flexible spouse manning the home front—either that or a really good nanny. So I’m curious about the logistics of the daily work-life-family juggle in the household of Sarah and Todd Palin. But they aren't talking about it, and that bugs me.

I’m part of a generation that sees infinite options and flexibility for following life’s pursuits, especially when a household has two income-producing adults. You can have kids or not. You can have two high-powered careers, two low-key careers or one of each. Or, like most of us, your careers can fall somewhere in the middle.

For those of us in that vast middle, when kids come into the picture, there's usually a lot of ratcheting up and cutting back, taking turns and trading off.

One parent (often but not always the mom) stays home for a while, or one or both cut back on their commitments and ambitions temporarily. If a once-in-a-career opportunity comes along for one, the other says go for it and picks up the domestic slack. When the other has a too-good-to-resist offer somewhere down the road, they swap roles.

But in writing about and observing all kinds of careers for several years now, I have to say that the more high profile and all-consuming one career is, the more likely it is that the other partner plays a largely supporting role. When one has a really high-powered job, such as a CEO or CFO, governor or a national politician, there typically is either a stay-at-home or work-from-home spouse (or no kids).

And it works both ways. Fortune magazine ran a feature a few years ago about accomplished women and the stay-at-home hubbies who make their careers possible.

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What is sexism?

All criticisms of Sarah Palin are not sexist. It would be sexist to expect that she would receive no criticism, or that she SHOULD receive no criticism, because she is a woman. I admit that some of the criticism of Palin may really be the result of ideological bias, or simply sloppy reporting, not sexism. Some of the questions are fair game in isolation (yes, of course, it's fair to talk about Palin's experience in general; it's that she's held to a higher standard than males in the race that's the issue).

The Palin piling on is a complex cultural stew. In some cases, I suspect ideological and gender bias are working together. A reader has challenged me to define what I consider to be sexism. Broadly, I would define sexism in the political sphere as the following: When the woman is held to a higher and different standard than a similarly situated male, especially but not limited to issues that have no relevance to the race and that tend to diminish the woman's professional accomplishments by playing into gender stereotypes.

Specifically, here is a list of what I consider to be sexist behavior:

Coverage of a female politician that fixates on her physical appearance, pro or con. I admit that male politicians sometimes face this (Obama walking shirtless out of the Hawaiian surf got a lot of attention, and there was a lot of attention about John Edwards' shiny hair). And I think that some women have mixed feelings about this. After all, who doesn't want to be considered good looking? But, for many women, when they are in a professional setting, and supposedly professional media commentators place the focus back on their physical appearance, as a positive or a negative, it feels diminishing of their professional accomplishments. This works both ways, of course. Hillary Clinton has been viciously attacked by some on the right for supposedly not being good looking. That, too, is sexist, especially since unattractive male politicians are generally not held to this standard. If you think about it, good-looking male politicians also find their appearance the topic of discussion in many cases, but that's not true of unattractive male politicians. It's true in both cases for women. Simply put, appearance is not relevant to competence, so why are we talking about Palin's hair and looks?
Sexual-related comments about a female politician.
Blatant belittling of one's intelligence without evidence and in a manner not accorded to male opponents (i.e. saying the woman is stupid, needs a teleprompter, needs a lot of coaching, etc.)
Implying that the woman must not really believe her positions or must be under the intellectual sway of a more powerful male. (This happens in racism too. Consider how opponents argue that Clarence Thomas is a tool of intellectual white men like Antonin Scalia).
Double standards relating to motherhood; i.e., the female politician is asked questions about motherhood that her male counterparts aren't asked about fatherhood. (Why doesn't Palin stay home to take care of the kids? Hillary, why don't you want to stay home to bake cookies and hold teas?) The reverse is also true. It's also wrong for people to demean females who CHOOSE to stay home and raise their families. I personally believe that whether a woman chooses to be a housewife, a career woman, or, like Palin, a mixture of both, is her personal decision and debate about it really isn't relevant in a presidential election.
Slurs that are typically used to demean women but aren't applied to similarly aggressive men; i.e. when attributes that would be praised in a man are reduced to a negative in the woman (b-tch, nag, etc.). The Martha Stewart phenomenon. The tough woman is a b-tch, but the overly emotional woman is too weak to lead (women can't win sometimes!)
The woman is held to higher standards for intelligence/professional qualifications than a male opponent. (Palin is utterly unqualified, but Obama is then not?)
Diminishing of traditional female roles as being silly (the PTA, chortle, chortle, chortle. She was a housewife once, how pathetic, etc.). I don't know about you, but right now I am thinking about the woman, a housewife, who ran my child's Catholic Bible school this summer, and she was quite a force to be reckoned with. I'd love to pit her against Putin.
Emphasis on female roles traditionally seen as silly when discussing an accomplished, professional woman (she was a beauty queen 24 years ago!!!!!!)
Assuming incompetence. (she's a woman, so she won't be a strong leader, etc.)
The woman becomes defined by a single gender-related issue in a manner that males do not (consider how the abortion question is defining Palin, but doesn't define Obama or even McCain.)
Issues that aren't used against male opponents are magnified out of proportion against the woman. (Bristol-mania. I admit this one might be ideological bias more than sexism, but I do think it's caught up in Palin's cultural role as a "mother")
Invasion of the personal sphere and personalization/lifestyle focus of/on the candidate. In other words, covering the woman through the gauze of personality and lifestyle issues, rather than professional accomplishment. (Why are we talking about Palin's prenatal care and amniotic fluid again? It's creepy. Do we talk about Biden's sperm count? I admit that's a really creepy thought, and I do admit that Palin invited some of this by talking about her breastfeeding to People magazine. But still.)

Sarah Palin Sexism Watch

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

This is true, I think

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