If Barack Was Brenda
by Nancy Sigafoos
As a native Ohioan who has lived in the Pacific Northwest for the past 32 years, I am compelled to reach out to those of you in my native state regarding the upcoming Presidential Primary. I write this in support of Hillary Clinton, to explain why I believe in her strength and experience over her opponent's unproven, yet alluring potential.
Apparently we're not allowed to discuss sexism or misogyny during this primary season. We are all tiptoeing around those issues. It's considered a huge gaff if gender role stereotypes or the historical marginalization of women is mentioned. There seems to be an unspoken agreement that to discuss the gender issue is somehow taboo. My question is this: with a more-than-viable woman candidate in a strong position to win the White House, why are so many women (of all colors) rallying around Obama? Is he truly a stronger candidate, or is this simply internalized sexism?
We could have a woman in the White House. It's within our reach. And not just any woman, but a dedicated public servant who can hold her record of achievement and progress next to anyone else's record, and stand proud.
It's time to put all the cards on the table, and make a solid decision about which Democratic candidate can triumph over John McCain and reverse the disastrous tide of the past seven years. The hungry jaws of the Republican defamation machine await that candidate. We need more than inspiration and hope. We need someone who has stood the test of time. Someone who has been put through the wringer, examined under the microscope, knocked down over and over, and still remained standing.
We need someone who has championed causes, many of them unpopular, for a lifetime. We need someone who has experience in the ugly truth of government, yet still remains devoted to the possibility of America.
That someone is Hillary Clinton.
As a psychotherapist, I am not surprised by the momentum of the Obama candidacy. His rhetoric appeals to those who have become hopeless and weary during the Bush/Cheney administration. My problem is that as I hear him repeat the same speech over and over, filled with feel-good platitudes, I feel like I am at a Tony Robbins seminar. Those discover-your-potential weekends pump you up for a short while, but the energy does not sustain; the complex realities of life trump the temporary rush of easy answers. I talk with young people who can only tell me that Obama is "cool" when I ask why they endorse him. "He's a rock star!" one young man told me.
As a woman, I see a relapse into an old pattern, which makes me feel hopeless and weary on a deeper level. I believe that woven into the great energy behind Barack Obama is a fallback into one of our country's longest and deepest traditions: plain old-fashioned sexism.
Ask yourself this:
Imagine a baby girl born in 1961 to an African dad and a white mom. Dad soon leaves, and Mom leans on her parents to help raise her child. Along the way, Mom marries an Indonesian man, who moves the family to Jakarta. The little girl is exceptional, and despite her somewhat chaotic childhood, she rises above and excels in school.
As a teenager, the girl smokes a little pot, snorts a little coke. She tries partying, but it's not for her. She's too ambitious, and she's too smart. The biracial girl grows into a woman. Using her intelligence and considerable charm, she enrolls in the finest colleges, and does very well. She goes to law school, and then follows her natural inclination toward politics.
She meets a man, who is her equal in all ways, and marries him. They have two beautiful children. She is an exemplary parent. She spends some time in the trenches of social reform in inner city Chicago, and rises up to become a member of the Illinois State Senate. She tries for the US House of Representatives, but fails. Her determination takes her further, and she runs for the US Senate in 2003. She wins.
She gains popularity in the United States because of her eloquence and her commitment to liberal causes. In the middle of her first term in the Senate, at the age of 46, she decides to run for President of the United States.
She's never been in the military, she's never been part of an executive branch of government. She is "a freshman." Not a lot of experience and young, but she is inspiring, funny, creative and fresh. She recounts her history, articulates the challenges of today, and offers hope to the masses.
Tell the truth. Would you vote for her? If all things but gender were precisely equal, would Brenda Obama be riding a wave of victories through the USA? If an inexperienced but hopeful and inspirational young woman was running for president, would she be seen as a strong opponent to a well-seasoned, experienced, mature woman who was running for the same office? Can we even stretch our imaginations to envision such a scenario?
The idea of two amazing women vying for the presidency is an exciting prospect I would welcome with open arms. But when you look at the female to male ratio in elected officials, when you look back at the string of 43 men who have occupied the office, I think we all know that the likelihood of such a match-up is currently science fiction. In fact, the reality is that to even see another potentially electable woman candidate for president in the foreseeable future is a dim prospect. Sad, but true.
I conclude with an appeal to every woman who has carried the burden when a man has fallen short of his responsibilities; to every woman who has taken a back seat when she knew she was the better driver; to every woman who gets her paycheck and knows that 77¢ does not equal one dollar. If you want true change, put Hillary Clinton in the White House. Do it for your female ancestors, who suffered and died as the property of a man, and do it for your daughters and granddaughters, who can take the message and possibility of a female President of The United States and carry the beacon of what it means to be a woman farther into a new reality than any of us have ever been allowed to dream.
Nancy Sigafoos