The X Factor
September 6, 2008
by Lynette Long
|NOTE: The New Agenda is non-partisan, and does not endorse any candidate. The following is Dr. Lynette Long’s personal opinion.
Gloria Steinem, in her recent editorial in the Los Angeles Times, came out strongly against Governor Palin, claiming the only thing women have in common with Palin is an X chromosome. I respectfully disagree. Governor Palin knows what it is like to be a woman, a mother, a daughter, a sister — things the two men on the Democratic ticket can never fully understand. She knows what it is like to grow up invisible in an incredibly sexist society, to be stared at, groped, and sexually harassed. She knows what it is like to be smaller in stature than men and physically vulnerable. She knows what it’s like to worry that you are pregnant when you don’t want to be or that you are not pregnant when you want to be. Sarah Palin knows what it is to experience the joys and sorrows of motherhood, to nurse a baby while holding down a job, to leave for work in the morning with a toddler tugging at your pant leg, or to have your children calling you at work to diffuse squabbles or ask for help with homework. She knows that once you get to work you have to speak twice as loud and twice as often to be heard and work twice as hard to go half as far. She knows what it is to be a member of the second sex.
Gender is the most fundamental human characteristic. The first comment made when a child is born is either, “It’s a girl” or “It’s a boy.” From that second on, boys and girls live in parallel universes in the same culture. From the nursery room to the board room, boys and girls are given different messages about their respective roles in the world. At the hospital they are given different types of names and wrapped in different color blankets. Once home, baby girls and boys wear fundamentally different clothes and play with different toys. This differentiation extends through school, where girls are given less attention, picked less frequently to answer questions and placed less often in advanced science and math classes. Once in the workforce, women are steered into lower-paying careers, paid less for the same work, and forced to juggle the responsibilities of work and home. You can’t learn what it is to be woman unless you are one. You can’t have a government essentially devoid of women that knows what’s best for women. You can’t legislate for women, without women.
After the last Democratic Primary was over and it was clear Senator Clinton was not going to get the Democratic nomination, I and a small group of Clinton supporters met with Senator McCain and Carly Fiorina. I personally explained to Senator McCain that women comprise well over half of the population, yet are underrepresented in every branch of government. I asked him loudly and clearly to choose a woman for the VP slot and to increase the number of women in the cabinet and on the Supreme Court. Senator McCain listened respectfully to my request. Representatives of The New Agenda also met with Carly Fiorina and as well as representatives from the Obama campaign to make similar requests.
After the Democratic Primary, I was also in contact with a member of Obama’s Finance Committee. He left several messages on my office phone, “urging” me to support Senator Obama. We had numerous contentious conversations and I finally told him I would be happy to vote for Senator Obama and rally other Hillary supporters to vote for Senator Obama, but in return I wanted Obama to pledge gender parity in the cabinet. I foolishly thought equal representation in government was a reasonable request. “What if there aren’t qualified women; you still expect us to appoint half women to the cabinet?” he replied. I was confused. “There are 300 million people in this country; you’re telling me you can’t find ten qualified women?” He responded, “You can’t have that.” We had no further conversations. There was nothing more to say.
Weeks later I encountered a training session for DNC canvassers at a park in my neighborhood. Eager to practice their new skills, they all ran up to me saying, “Do you support Senator Obama? Do you want to donate money to the DNC?” After explaining that I was a Hillary supporter, I again made my request. I will support Senator Obama if he will pick a woman as his running mate and promise gender parity in the cabinet. The men in the group openly laughed at me and found my request ridiculous. I looked at the horrified faces of the newly-minted female canvassers. “They’re laughing at you too,” I muttered.
Not one to give up, I contacted a daughter of a friend of mine who is a policy advisor for Obama. She assured me Obama was a good guy, so I posed my request to her. She generously responded, “I’ll ask him.” When I did not hear back from her in a few days, I shot her another email. She told me how disappointed she was in me for making such a stupid request. Obama was on the “right” side of the issues. Why did it matter whether men or women legislated those issues? I guess the answer from Obama was No. What saddened me was her mother was one of this nation’s greatest champions of Title IX, educational equity and gender parity. Her mother and I counted the number of pictures of boys and girls in text books, male and female cartoon characters, and documented the underrepresentation of girls in math classes in our nation’s schools. Yes, policy is important but who decides and delivers that policy is even more important. As Marshall McLuhan profoundly noted, “The medium is the message.” Children incorporate many of their perceptions about gender by five years old. Little girls won’t understand if Sarah Palin is pro-life or pro-choice, believes in gun control or is a member of the NRA, but they will know the Vice-President of the United States of America is a girl and that alone will alter their perceptions of themselves.
I have given my loyalty to the Democratic Party for decades. My party, which is comprised primarily of women, has not put a woman on a presidential ticket for 24 years. My party refused to nominate my candidate, Hillary Clinton, for president or vice president, even though she received more votes than any other candidate in history. My party stood silently by as Hillary Clinton was eviscerated by the mainstream media. My party was mute while the MSM repeatedly called Clinton a bitch and symbolically called me and every other woman in this country a bitch. My party was disturbingly silent when the MSM commented on Hillary’s body or the shrillness of her voice, reminding me and every other woman of the fundamental disrespect we endure on a daily basis. My party’s candidate was mute when Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Father Pfleger openly mocked Senator Clinton from the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ. My party’s candidate was silent when the rapper Ludicrous released a new song calling Hillary a bitch. My party and its candidate gave their tacit approval for the attacks on Senator Hillary Clinton and consequently women in general.
I have a choice. I can vote for my party and its candidates which have demonstrated a blatant disrespect for women and a fundamental lack of integrity, or I can vote for the Republican ticket which has heard our concerns and put a woman on the ticket but with whom I fundamentally don’t agree on most issues. If Democratic women wait for the perfect woman to come along, we will never elect a woman. We have to seize opportunity where it presents itself. Besides, the Democratic Party is no longer my home. I have no home, but this election I will make my bed somewhere else.
I respect Gloria Steinem’s right to support the presidential ticket of her choice, but she is openly trying to derail Sarah Palin’s historic candidacy. As Madeleine Albright said, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” I will vote for McCain-Palin. I urge other women to do the same. I might not personally agree with Palin on every issue, and I promise to be the first person knocking on her door if Roe v. Wade or any other legislation that goes against the rights of women is threatened. But in Governor Palin I find a woman of integrity, who not only talks the talk but walks the walk. I can work with that. I will work with that. When I walk down the street, I don’t have Democrat printed on my forehead, but my gender is obvious to everyone and impacts every interaction in my life. Since my country is far from gender neutral, right now for me gender trumps everything else. I urge other women to join me in this fight for equality. Sometimes opportunities occur where you least expect them.
Dr. Long,
Thank you for finally speaking up for the women of this country. I am a Hillary supporter and many of my friends are beating me up for supporting Palin. I say – let my daughter see a woman in the White House – I don’t care which party anymore.
Unless women stick together we will move backwards. If women would just stick up for each other and stick by each other what a better place this would be for our sons and daughters.
Dr. Long , I can’t begin to thank you for the work you’ve been doing with respect to voter intimidation and caucus fraud. We can not fix what we are too afraid to see.
At this point, for me, gender/identity just trumped everything else. And yet — I would not support an unqualified woman as anyone’s VP, or someone like Sibelius (bad character) or Condi Rice (bad policies).
Palin strikes me as the right KIND of woman, Hillary’s kind.
Palin has my utmost respect. I think she is highly intelligent, full of common sense, and I feel she will keep her legislative actions geared toward making America fairer and stronger with a centrist slant. I do not agree with her on all the issues, but I am not afraid of differing viewpoints. I can hold my own and continue to have the energy to campaign for what I feel is right. I have been a life long Democrat, until May 31, 2008. Now I am an independent voter and I will gladly vote for McCain and Palin. I trust them to maintain a centrist platform, and not be swayed to either polar end of any scale, something that has been missing from politics for at least 8 years, and something that has diminished the American middle class nearly to ruin. Socialism is not America, and the SPP is not America. I feel Sarah Palin is eminently qualified to be our VP pick, with eye on the future of the Presidency.
RCP has Obama’s leading by an average of 2.4%, nationally: polls
Gender parity in cabinet. I suspect that’s all it would take, and they seem to be incapable of pulling their heads out of their asses sufficiently to figure it out.
I’m a former Democrat, voting for McCain/Palin in November. It’s been a very sad, but enlightening, journey to my decision. But, when my party dismisses its best candidate and won’t even have her on the ticket for VP, what can I possibly infer but that they are sexist? I won’t stand for this any longer. The media narrative on both Sen. Clinton and Gov. Palin is disgusting, base and vile. And, to see “progressive” bloggers’ helping to steer that narrative right into the gutter has been a shock. I’ve learned much the past 18 months; the lessons of history are often brutal. But, I have learned my lessons well; my teachers, unfortunately for them, may learn their lessons on November 4th.
As I read Dr. Long’s comment and your response posts, I am moved and encouraged.
We teach others how to treat us. We must stand up for ALL women.
I have learned very much over this election cycle, too. I will, forever forward, vote independent of party line. I will base my precious votes on character, integrity, honor, experience and willingness to work across party lines placing country first. And, OH YES, the candidate’s (and his/her surrogates’) treatment of ALL women speaks directly to every one of those qualities. The rhetoric and scare tactics are empty. The actions and inactions of politicians and groups claiming to support women’s rights – human rights – are the truth.
Thank you, Dr. Long. Thank you, sisters, for joining together in this cause.
i hope this will an opportunity to make the republicans more attentive and more friendly to women and women concerns. no i don’t expect the republicans will change completely on all feminist issues but i suspect with Palin they will be better than they have previously been.
Wonderful article & wonderful site! I’m encouraged that women are getting together & speaking up.
I can’t believe how Sen. Clinton, and now Gov. Palin, have been treated by the media; and in Sen. Clinton’s case by her own party.
I’m shocked by what I’m seeing.
The ‘icing on the cake’ was Gloria Steinem’s article! I’m so glad there are women like Dr. Long who are speaking out. Thank You!
I was a registered Republican my entire life – but was excited to see HRC running for President. When I saw the kind of disgusting disrespect she was having to endure, I started sending money to Clinton’s campaign and I changed my party affiliation (to “non-affiliated”) so that I could vote for her in the CA primary. Now I will be supporting the McCain/Palin ticket.
I have to agree with Albright about there being “a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women”; their short-sightedness is apalling and so damaging to any efforts to correct these social inequities.
Thank you for the work you’re doing and the changes your efforts have already generated/inspired.
I wrote a letter to The Canton Repository and it was published during the Primaries. I took a lot of nasty responses from extreme liberal woman and chauvinist men in the papers comments in Canton, Ohio. I added a portion after McCain selected Palin. I thought everyone would enjoy it so here it is:
Motivating The Hillary Vote In Ohio (my letter published in the Canton Repository)
Men grow up believing it is possible to achieve any goal they set before them. As woman achieving our dreams was in question. There is a gender gap in our society; equal rights, equal pay and general respect. This has nothing to do with our Race, because we are Women first. We must unite together and accomplish a dream that our Grandmothers started many years before (the right to vote, become more than a mother, freedom of choice and a career). We all must honor our sisterhood to women. Hillary Clinton grew up having BIG Dreams and dedicated her life to achieving her dreams not only for herself but for Every Woman and girl in America. I believe if we elect Hillary Clinton to the highest most respected position in the world we as woman will begin to achieve equality. We have young woman not being accepted to colleges of their choice not based on her merit but based on the fact of keeping a balanced male female population. We have woman completing the same job tasks as men making almost 25% less per hour. We need to rally around Hillary Clinton. We need to not judge her on her friendliness and likable factors. We need to consider why she has presented herself in the fashion she has. One reason is in order for any woman to hold a position of any type of power she must prove to every person she encounters that she is as strong as a man. If she shows any weakness she will be considered too soft and incapable of accomplishing any tasks and loses respect because of gender stereotypes. That makes a woman more direct, forceful and determined in her will to achieve her goals. As women we want our daughters to see and witness that a woman can achieve if she believes. Now is the time for ALL WOMEN TO STAND UP AND VOTE FOR OUR CAUSE IN LIFE BEING A WOMAN.
(My Follow Up After the Destruction of the Democratic Party by Radical Liberals)
Now that the primary season is over and the Democratic Party failed to respect 18 million votes I have found myself a strong PUMA. I am voting for John McCain not based on party Lines. I am voting for the man who sees no lines. He sees America. He heard the millions of women across America who has a desire to shatter the glass ceiling of sexism. He has selected a woman VP. I believe we all must vote for the man that understands America and our needs. Obama lacks the experience and character judgment that is required to represent our America. Thank you from the bottom of my heart Hillary Clinton. You reawakened the Women in America. You made us realize YES WE CAN DO IT! You cracked the glass and now we will destroy it by electing Sara Palin as Vice President of America.
Thanks Dr. Long, you must have been reading my mind. I had the fortunate experience of being a 40 something and going back to college the last few years. I seemingly thought that I had lived as a feminist most of my life, funny though, I was told by the young colleges students that I could not be a feminist if I had 4 children (you know women must not procreate we need to focus on ourselves). That I could not be a true feminist if I had stopped working to raise them (even though the first 10 years of my young adult life I had committed to trying to break the glass ceiling in the Shipping & Trucking Industries which are infamous bastions of male domination). I could not be a feminist if I had any conservative views on anything (even though I had lived a life full of lessons that had molded my opinions in that direction. No, only women like Gloria Steinem can be a true feminist, me I was an anomaly. These same college aged students often came to me for advice, looked to me in class to see where I stood on issues of the day, and found me to be a very moderate, self-examining person. What I see in women like Gloria Steinem is women who want us to continue to view men as our enemy, that motherhood is anathema to destroying our Planet, and that actually having some of what we want is a bad thing. I applaud her for her courage at the beginning of the feminist revolution, but I ask that she now opens her eyes to what some of us have actually accomplished! I know we have a long way to go, but I also have been through the battles and can see women making good strides. Ms. Steinem should be pulling for any woman who is trying to push through those glass ceilings, while also being able to disagree with some of their beliefs and debate as necessary. Women must stop hurting other women and start working for our true cause: equality in everything!
I am a female public health professional, with a doctorate from one of the Ivy Leagues, whose career has been dedicated to empowering the poor in underserved communities. I am a feminist and have been able to balance the demands of work and motherhood for the past 20 years (with the support of my husband, who is also a professional). With my education in human biology and genetics, I am also pro-life; this is consistent with my commitment to defense of all human life. Given how many “feminist” columnists recently have degraded Palin with appallingly sexist attacks just because she disagrees with them on the abortion issue, two articles present a refreshing change. Thanks to Tammy Bruce in her San Francisco Chronicle article today for taking the high road and depicting feminism at its best and in its fuller scope. And thanks too for this entry:
http://thestilettoblog.com/200.....ideal.aspx
Wow. I love this post. I love the new wave. It’s smart, based on rational judgment and considered self-interest, and best of all, it’s working!
Steinem endorsed Obama, when it wasn’t really necessary. I have to keep checking it out because I still can’t believe she did that. The traditional Women/Feminist communities have been shockingly silent on the 24/7 misogyny during this campaign – and it still continues. I will never get over their silence.
So I am so grateful for this blog. Thanks for your work.
PUMA
I just joined yesterday, and I too am grateful for another website that is smart and has Lynette Long writing her opinions for it. I look forward to participating with whatever is asked .
You may knock on her door–indeed, you may knock her door down–but Sarah Palin will not be listening. She answers to a higher power.
We ask for people to look beyond our gender–shouldn’t we do the same?
This feminist is voting for Obama.
All,
As a woman and as a college graduate with a master’s in social work, I have been dismayed at the National Organization of Women and what they think feminism is about. I have also been dismayed at issues like the use of race in this present election by this democratic president to insulate himself from issues during the Clinton run in the primaries.
I am a conservative woman, pro-life woman that is against the Roe v. Wade decision and I believe Palin is too. We both answer to a higher power as we believe life to be very important.
It isn’t that she will not hear Dr. Lynette Long Janet, she will be convicted to vote her conscious. We (Palin and myself) are still women but the value of taking a human life is too much for us to (spiritually/emotionally) conceive; that our nation allows so many abortions as a mantle of choice.
Roe v. Wade cuts across our spiritual lives as a violation to us (pro-lifers) as much like rape would be to all women of character. Having said this, I know, I have opened myself to the pro-abortion slanders (behaviors) that comes out of the pro-choice side of the issue.
I used to be a democrat and voted democratically religiously. I have felt the democratic party has gone too far left and left me in the dust for my conservative values. I knew the democratic party was moving too liberal when the democratic party was moving to support gay issues (including same sex marriage); sex education for public education that included condoms (only we called in social work as safe sex education)–thereby deceiving our children that having sex is safe and we were sending mixed signals that we agreed that children should be having sex. The removal of the ten commandments from a court house and a judge who refused to remove them. All of these issues have a spiritual side to it that can be destructive to the soul. But, we allow the legislature and courts to make these value assessments on morality daily.
We have viewed government as the answer. I do not know if any of you are aware of the fact that all our government offices were founded on Judea Christian Values. If you doubt this claim I direct you to “The Christian Life and Character of The Civil Institutions of The United States” by Benjamin F. Morris; “Christianity and the American Commonwealth” by Charles B. Galloway; America’s Christian History (The Untold Story) by Gary Demar. As a social worker, I know that Democrats have supported social programs more than Republicans have in the past; and voting democratic would have helped my social work job too (self interests). But as an american, I had to put my vote into the candidate that would best serve the american people. This vote has been for a Republican President for the past 8 years at least. I became one of those security mom’s after September 11, 2001. I was serving in a government building at the time as a social worker.
Lynette Long speaks about the media attacks on women in her article, upon which this new group of women has come into being. The media has also be brutal upon our present President. George W. Bush– I think there are times that this man needed defended too. Media bias needs to a broader goal in getting journalism back to reporting news more objectively. We have lost this from the olden days. It seems regulating rules are needed from Wall Street to Journalism…due to the morality of human kind. Could it possibly be sin?.
Oh, Lynette Long,
Thank you for writing your views on Gloria’s Steinem’s recent editoral. I meant to thank you but got on my soap box. I guess I had a lot of opinions as a woman and a professional that got held in for along time.
Laura
Dr. Lynette Long,
I reread your article and found it interesting to note that you worked on title nine of the social security amendments. This is interesting to me. I think you can probably understand why I would be interested in such details (title nine) coming from my social work back ground and all.
I would be interested in listening to your life journey of how you came to do all of these things. Are you by any chance teaching at a university that gave you such an opportunity?. I am wondering how to get in touch to listen to your story.
[...] Lynette is a psychologist and an educator who specializes in empowering girls. In her essay The X Factor, she wrote: Yes, policy is important but who decides and delivers that policy is even more [...]
[...] Lynette is a psychologist and an educator who specializes in empowering girls. In her essay The X Factor, she wrote: Yes, policy is important but who decides and delivers that policy is even more [...]
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