Dear GGs, why aren't there more of you in politics?

CJ · Post by CJ » Tue Jul 29, 2008 11:05 pm

Hi all,

A question for GGs:

Why is it that there aren't more women in circles of political power? Seems to me that would be a good thing. What holds you back? Is there really a glass ceiling? or institutionalized sexism? If so, do you believe it can ever be overcome? If not, why not?

Enquiring minds want to know.

Love,
CJ

Curly(SO) · Post by **Curly(SO)** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:37 am

Well CJ...it's too difficult walking down those long corridors of power wearing flip flops....my toes just wouldn't be able to manage it

Deidre Taylor · Post by **Deidre Taylor** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 6:08 am

And here all this time I thought it was because the walk uo the steps to the capital building up all the steps in high heels was a royal pain.

CJ · Post by CJ » Wed Jul 30, 2008 6:36 am

So, what're you saying, Curly? That the dress code is too stringent?

Curly(SO) · Post by **Curly(SO)** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 11:14 am

Yep! Power dressing just not my thing....actually just power full stop ain't my bag baby

Curly(SO) · Post by **Curly(SO)** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 11:19 am

Oops, sorry CJ, are you expecting a serious reply?

Love,
Curly

(Maybe another day I do 'serious' reply

)

Carolynn · Post by **Carolynn** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:07 pm

Maybe not as many women are sociopaths as among men. Kinda like asking why there are not many used car salespersons?

GalicianGirl(SO) · Post by **GalicianGirl(SO)** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:34 pm

Ok CJ...

I sure couldn't do it... I can't do much of anything without my jeans...Wow, I would be perfect for a position in politics...

Hmmmm, maybe because women are too smart to get themselves thown into the political mumbo jumbo. The women that I know don't like playing the kind of games that politics entail...

Also, we're still not totally considered first class citizens in a lot of places and more then likely not be taken seriously. We'd have to work a lot harder and get paid a lot less to hold the same position as our male counterpart.

Hopefully this will all change in the near future because I think that having more females in politics, we actually might start seeing things getting done...

Just my little ole opinion...

Mary Beth SO · Post by **Mary Beth SO** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:01 pm

GalicianGirl(SO) wrote:Hmmmm, maybe because women are too smart to get themselves thown into the political mumbo jumbo. The women that I know don't like playing the kind of games that politics entail...

I do adore my jeans and flip flops, so perhaps that factors into the discussion, too, but I'll also agree with Sharon on this. It's not that I do not care or do not have an opinion about the issues in this country, it's just that I sometimes feel like politics aren't really about the issues at all. I sometimes feel as though it's a game to some people, with teams that fight against each other, instead of together for positive change and I'm very disheartened by that.

Hope that helps some. Good question.

Terri(SO) · Post by **Terri(SO)** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:59 pm

CJ,
My reasons for not wanting to go into politics don't really have anything to do with how I dress. When I'm working, I can walk through City Hall and look right at home. For me, people who are higher up in local government, especially the elected officials, all seem to always be on their guard. I don't have enough emotional energy to spend that much time making sure I say what needs to be said in just the right way so as not to be misconstrued and used against me later. I just can't think on my feet well enough.
What's it like being the partner of a woman in politics? Don't you feel you have to be more careful?
Terri

Stormy(SO) · Post by **Stormy(SO)** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 9:31 pm

I am a naturally political animal. I intuitively know who is an ally and who you must be careful with. I also work in corporate america in the law dept. of a large credit card company. I make excellent money. To start at the bottom of the political system and work through the ranks is a pay cut - being in politics was never a goal. For me think more like Cindi Lauper - Girls Just Want to Have Fun!! There are many powerful women in politics, many more than there ever were and I think you'll see more women succeeding. Golda Meir, Indira Ghandi, Cleopatra <G>, Angelina Jolie, Nancy Pelosi - these are role models of todays young women. Remember that America is a very young country and an extremely parochial and provincial country. It really hasn't been that long since we were chattel and we've come a long way baby!! There absolutely is a glass ceiling that we've made cracks in but we haven't broken it yet. I think the ratio is around $.70 to the $1.00 for women doing the same work as men. It could be a greater disparity but I don't think so. JMHO

Light, love and laughter,
Stormy

Stormy(SO) · Post by **Stormy(SO)** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 9:32 pm

....oh and CJ I love your pic!!

Stormy

CJ · Post by CJ » Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:27 am

Hi all,

Thanks for the compliment, Stormy.

Terri,

Being partnered to a woman in politics is... oy! how can I say this, uh, diplomatically?... somewhat trying.

But not for the reasons you may think. The hard part is that she never seems to have any time off. She's always on call. Always glued to her BlackBerry. While it may be sort of true, as Stormy says, that girls just want to have fun, I think that Roxanne's idea of fun is quite different from most women I know. She loves to work, to organize, to plan, to oversee, to "liaise" (I hate that word!)... essentially, to control. This kind of stuff brings her pleasure and satisfaction.

In our case, I guess I'm the "good woman" that's allegedly "standing behind every good man." I try to be supportive but I find it hard sometimes. Her world revolves around her job. I guess this is probably true of many men out there, as well. It's certainly not my case; I long ago learned the fine art of "disconnecting."

And, no, it's not easy being partnered to someone who's occasionally in the public eye and who, at the tender age of 32, naturally entertains higher political ambitions. It's not easy, and it's even less easy when you're a transgendered person with a hankering to go public, yourself. The upshot of it is: you cannot do so. We so often meet people we know while strolling in our fair city, that my doing so en femme would probably spell disaster for Roxanne's nascent career in politics. So I refrain. I bury my own yearnings for her sake. And isn't that what popular belief has it that a "good woman" ought to do?

Anyway, I admire Roxanne. She strongly believes that the best path to social change is through direct involvement in the halls of political power. It may be that I'm too jaded (or simply too old) to be so idealistic. As reflected in the work I do--on the "ground zero" community level--I'm more of a believer in the grassroots approach to social and political change. But, as Roxanne herself has reminded me in the past, politics always begin at the grassroots level. I guess it's the hierarchy and rigid structure of most political bodies that make me stay away. But not her. She's not afraid of that. She's a powerful individual, in all senses of the word.

Love,
CJ

Aileen · Post by **Aileen** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 11:19 am

The best answer to that is to see how Sarah Palin is treated, and the jokes that are made about her. But I did like hearing her say, "The heels are on, the gloves are off!"

Why does Sarah Palin only wear skirts on the campaign trail?
Because all her pants are on fire.

Anthony Simon · Post by **Anthony Simon** » Fri Dec 31, 2010 1:49 pm

Oh dear, I'm going to get myself in trouble here (if anybody can be bothered to reply that is). There aren't many women in politics because, at root the stories people tell themselves about "the real world" validate the "masculine" values. If that is so, and politics is (next to war) "the real world" activity par excellence, then logically most of the women you get in politics are going to be selected on the basis of their exceptional "masculine" qualities (example Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady). This is because people at large, believing in those stories, think that if you elect women who don't have these qualities they won't be able to cope and the country will suffer.

Actually I think these stories are a load of old rubbish and what you need to survive in the world is a strong integrated character. That is a character in which whatever "masculine" and feminine" aspects one has are integrated into a relatively coherent whole. And, scaled up, what I think a country needs to be successful is to integrate those aspects of itself relatively coherently. This means abandoning the old, simplistic, narratives of men being able to survive in the real world and women not and coming up with some new ones.