Notes from the Cracked Ceiling

I just finished reading Notes from the Cracked Ceiling: Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and What it Will Take for a Woman to Win by Anne E. Kornblut. And I just had to comment on it; so please excuse the shift away from my normal blog topics of my children, my marriage, and myself as I discuss that one topic which makes many of us shudder: politics. (I promise to connect it to my life in the end.)

I am passionate about politics. I think I am one of the few people in the world who watches CSPAN. I write my congressperson, senators, and president monthly. I vote in every election, whether it is national, local, or statewide. I volunteer during presidential races. I teach American Government, and my main soap box issue with my students is the importance of voting. And I am a woman. So I was intrigued by Kornblut's argument.

Kornblut outlines the 2008 campaign by discussing Clinton and Palin, trying to answer the question of what it will take for a woman to reach the highest office in America. She then goes on to discuss happier endings for other women in politics. Now, I am not going to discuss my personal feelings on Clinton or Palin (that is the subject of an ENTIRELY different blog), but Kornblut's argument is that Clinton did not win because she is too mannish and didn't play to her gender, while Palin didn't win because she was too everything - too feminine, too pretty, too mothering.

Um, okay, then what will it take for a woman to win?

Kornblut argues that women tend to not like other women, and if the"other woman" is better looking or younger than you, then she is really not going to be liked. I went to an all girls high school. I teach at an all girls high school. I can see her point -- in teenagers. But don't women hit a point where we outgrow backstabbing clique-ness? Not according to Kornblut's research.

It's too hard for a woman to break into politics as president, VP, or governor, because in those roles, they stand alone. It's easier for a woman to break into Congress as a representative or senator, because there they are shielded by other congresspeople and senators. And, Kornblut seems to be arguing, if you have young children at home, your chances are next to impossible. The question: "But who is going to take care of the children?" can kill your shot if you are not prepared for it.

Kornbult argues that women can be effective in politics, if they run the right campaign for their locality. Women are typically seen as nurturing, at the agents of change. And it's the lioness/lion cub argument: if you want to bring down the wrath of hell, threaten a mother's child. Women in politics need to market themselves as the lioness, protecting their lion cub.


I'm not arguing with Kornblut's research, or her findings, or her hypotheses. On the whole, I think she is right. But I am a young mother of young children. And yet my representative is male, my senators, while female, are older, and my president is male. So who is representing me? (Told you I would connect it to my life)

My question is: where is my voice in politics?

Women need to run. They need to be encouraged to run. And women need to vote. I'm not saying that women need to vote for women -- they just need to vote. For the best candidate. For the issue that you can agree with (or if not agree with, at least live with). Our vote is our voice. And when women start using that voice, hopefully, eventually, we will encourage more women to run so that we have more women representing that voice.

After all, when I tell my daughter that she can be president one day, I don't want her to think I'm a liar.