There was a time when American women yearned for the opportunity to see a female candidate stand for election in a presidential campaign. Now, with no legal barriers to speak of, even women seem ambivalent about putting an experienced one in the White House. “Women once advocated it was time for them to stand for elections and in turn have a voice in legislative issues that affect their lives, but do they have the qualities and skills needed to do that?” asks Natasha Thomsen, author of Global Issues: Women’s Rights (Facts on File, 2007).
Admittedly, three major superpowers—France, the United Kingdom, and the United States—are all holding presidential elections in 2007 and 2008 without incumbent candidates, a scenario that would challenge any candidate, male or female. Many even say our country is behind the times all ready, but when the Group of Eight summit met in June 2007, hostess German Chancellor Angela Merkel was pretty much on her own. Ségolène Royal had just been tested in the French elections and lost to her opponent Nicolas Sarkozy. This begs the questions: what will it take to put a female president in the White House and do American voters really want one there?
Women don’t seem so concerned now about gender but about the kind of person they might empower. Many women openly professed their disdain for Royal’s uppity manner and Hillary Clinton’s popularity is out-weighed by her calculating manner and husband’s razzle-dazzle (despite public disapproval of his adultery record). Nancy Pelosi is often characterized as being on a power trip.
Women today seem pretty bent on empowering a candidate who stands for what they believe in, or not vote at all. The fact that previous generations of women didn’t throw their weight behind a candidate such as Geraldine Ferraro, when she ran as Walter Mondale’s running mate in 1984, shows they are actually ambivalent about playing the gender card. “What kind of personal and professional development is this now calling for in women?” asks Thomsen.
If it’s anything like the Equal Rights Amendment, which has been awaiting ratification by Congress since 1923, the real worry centers around the use of power. This same argument might apply to the 1981 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which also awaits U.S. ratification. In short, the American Government—presumably composed of men and women—are concerned about the use and abuse of powerful words, more than the issues that gave rise to these political instruments in the first place.
So is this country ready for a female president? Probably as much as Germany was ready for Ms. Merkel, England for Margaret Thatcher, or India for Indira Ghandi. The question is if there a woman candidate who has the qualities, energy, and leadership skills that Americans—men and women—will appreciate and that can guide this country through the shark-infested waters of terrorism, war, and environmental casualties.
Future articles at Thomsen’s web site (http://users.bestweb.net/~nthomsen/clips.htm) and blog (http://natasha-place.blogspot.com/) will focus on what qualities voters are seeking in a president of the United States and how this might impact gender choice. (What exactly is the role of the role models of the 21st century? What do women have to do to not let politics put them into a power-steering mode?) How dress and age might also impact pubic opinion will also be discussed. Other articles will address women’s consciousness and how this is impacting their awareness about women’s status in society—physically, professionally, personally, and spiritually.
Natasha Thomsen is a freelance writer and entrepreneur. She can be reached at nmthomsen@aol.com or http://natasha-place.blogspot.com/. Global Issues Women’s Rights (Facts on File) is available online at http://www.factsonfile.com/newfacts/FactsDetail.asp?PageValue=Books&SIDText=0816068097&LeftID=0.
