Gender in the Presidential Campaign

Gloria Steinem's piece, "Women Are Never Front-Runners," brings to light what might be, for some, the forgotten history of our country. Steinem reminds us that, "Black men were given the vote a half-century before women of any race were allowed to mark a ballot, and generally have ascended to positions of power, from the military to the boardroom, before any women (with the possible exception of obedient family members in the latter)." She explains the reason being that masculinity reigns as the supreme feature of a leader, not race.
It is easy to dismiss this issue as the traditional viewpoints of males from another generation. However, I have heard this opinion spoken in my classrooms. Many times in classrooms I've been surprised by intelligent young women pursuing careers that they would not vote for a woman president. It’s horrible that women cannot trust women. But if you look at women in the media it is not surprising. Powerful women are not judged well. Just recently, Hilary Clinton had to face the accusation that people don’t like here as much as Barack Obama. She cannot shake how the fact that she is driven has been interpreted as a ballbusting behavior, as the reason she stayed with a cheating husband, not as a positive attribute. No one succeeds without being driven towards their goal.
The question remains: Why is the perception of women so negative in the United States? Our country has an extremely low percentage of female political leaders compared to other first world countries. Are we ruined by the female figures that populate our mediascape: Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton? Why are we so behind when it comes to political gender equality?

Women are equally important in politics as men. I can understand why not only women, but society as a whole might be nervous about electing a female president. The course of history tells us that only a man can be president. Only a man can initiate war. I disagree. I thought the article brought up an interesting point about how “famous” women like Lindsay Lohan (who is a crack whore and even failed rehab) is placed on a pedestal and worshiped by the media and millions of fans. With such poor female remodels, it really isn’t surprising that society as a whole might not be ready for a female to assume the highest ranking official in the country. A woman can’t be a firefighter nor a man be a nurse. I believe hegemony and stereotyping is to blame.

I don’t think that it is just women in general. I had a teacher that said that the white man has and always will run this country. Before you tell me he is being racist, he was an African American who felt this way. I think that the U.S has always had a white male president and always will. Why? I don’t know, maybe because we feel comfortable with what we are used to. All I am saying is that even though our presidents have done some really stupid stuff for this country the overall accomplishments outweigh the negatives they have done.

Sorry my link didn't show up: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/opinion/08steinem.html

I personally think it is great that a woman is running for president. To show that kind of strength in such a male dominated area is very admirable. However, not everyone feels the same way as I do, and the fact is, women need to secure total equality in other positions before attempting such a lofty goal as President of the United States.
Though many do not see it as an issue, gender bias is something that is heavily ingrained in our society. Women are paid less than men when they hold equal positions (an average of 75 cents for every male dollar earned), and have a much harder time earning promotions or even gaining workplace acceptance. This is especially true when a woman attempts to enter the male work world, which includes business, technical, and scientific trades. Generally, in these positions, women are viewed as either well liked but incompetent (blond secretary), or competent but disliked (Margaret Thatcher). I could throw a bunch of statistics at you, but I have other things to write about.
Even though I am aware of this gap in equality, and even though I think it is wrong, my decision about who I will vote for will not be swayed by the fact that there is a female candidate. I will vote for who I believe will do the best job, and if that person happens to be Hilary, I won't mind.
There is one thing that bothers me though. Those who base their decisions even marginally on the sex of the candidate are being sexist, even if they support the woman! By not taking a consistent, non-biased stance, you are not honoring the concept of equality. After a disappointing finish in the Iowa primary, Hilary Clinton broke down while giving a speech in New Hampshire. Later, Hilary won the New Hampshire primary, a state she was not expected to win before she broke down. The primary results show that a majority of the women that showed up to vote voted for Hilary. While I'm sure not all of these women voted because Hilary was a woman, or because she cried, many probably did. I admire these women for supporting their gender, but not making an informed decision based on stances and viewpoints in a presidential campaign shows a certain level of ignorance. Please people, vote for the candidate you like, not for their race or gender!
Personally, I don't think that this country is ready for a woman president. Instead of focusing on making such a big leap towards equality as a woman president, women as a whole need to focus on the smaller, much more prevalent issues. Issues like workplace and domestic equality need to be tackled and dealt with first; the leap to presidency is too big, too much of a change, for this country to accept. Not yet, anyways.

I am quite happy to see a woman running for president. I think this world is due for a change. Everyone thinks a womans place is in the home, i disagree. I just think men are scared that women will be better than they are at something. You just never know, she may do a very good job. I look at this way, this world has had its ups and downs, regardless of who is president. Some were just better than others. We will all still go on living like we do no matter who wins the election. Sure, we will have your chronic complainers and what have you, just like everything else. I will not this election stress me out and Im not even sure I will vote this year to be honest because I dont want to waste a vote.

I don't think that it matters if a male or a female runs the country. I want someone in
office that is can get the country turned around and headed in the right direction. It
is so sad to see day after day on the news all the young men and women going over seas
to fight in the war. I feel if both genders can fight for the country than either gender
should be able to run the country. Whom ever gets elected to the White House, I hope
they make it a little easier for all the struggling people in our country and let the men and
women in Iraq come home.