Women and Politics

EDIT: Just found a bunch of more-or-less finished entries in my drafts. Please excuse the sudden influx of

The presentation last Thursday on First Ladies was interesting, but I think that choosing to discuss only First Ladies in  class devoted to women and politics is inherently flawed. Women who marry politicians are the only women in politics who are neither elected nor appointed to their position; they have married into it. I don't want to understate the role of the First Lady, and I know that they have an important role to play in keeping their husbands approval ratings up, and possibly getting them elected in the first place. But doesn't it seem a little skeevy to discuss women in politics by focusing on the only women who didn't get there by there own merits? Women who are, by definition, shoe-horned for four years into the extremely gendered role of "wife"?

In Tuesday's election, there were so many brilliant women elected to the senate, and I think it's a real shame we haven't mentioned any of them. Tammy Baldwin, for instance, is the first openly gay woman to serve in the Senate. Tammy Duckworth is the first disabled U.S. Congresswoman, and an Iraq War veteran. Tulsi Gabbard, the Congresswoman-elect from Hawaii, is the first Hindu congressperson, and also a combat veteran.

In a year where we've had a handful of elected women become groundbreaking firsts, I think it's a pity not to pay homage to them.