Sarah Palin called out the double standard in American politics on Good Morning America today, when she said a female politician wouldn't be given a pass to get as teary as Rep. John Boehner tends to. I agree that a female politician wouldn't survive a week if she got as emotional as Boehner often does, though I'm not sure Boehner entirely gets a pass.
Then, though, Palin said this:
But Palin said it was OK, since double standards only encourage women in politics "work that much harder" and "be that much tougher."
That has always been Palin's approach to gender. The idea that adversity only makes people stronger and only the strong survive goes a long way to explain why conservative women don't support equality-granting measures that would correct for gender disparities in workplaces and at home. In Palin's world, the onus is on women and minority groups to overcome obstacles. Remember when she said this about Hillary Clinton criticizing media coverage during the campaign?
Fair or unfair, I think she does herself a disservice to even mention it. You gotta to plow through that. You have to know what you're getting into -- which, I say this with all due respect to Hillary Clinton, and to her experience and to her passion for changing the status quo also -- but when I hear a statement like that coming from a woman candidate with any kind of perceived whine about that excess criticism or you know maybe a sharper microscope put on her, I think, 'man that doesn't do us any good' -- women in politics, women in general wanting to progress this country, I don't think it bodes well for her, a statement like that. Because, again, fair or unfair, it is there, I think that's reality, and I think it's a given. I think people can just accept that she is going to be under the sharper microscope. So be it. I mean, work harder, prove yourself to an even greater degree that you're capable, that you're going to be the best candidate, and that of course is what she wants us to believe at this point. So it bothers me a little bit hearing her bring that attention to herself on that level.
That's fine advice if used in a way to empower a group of teenage girls, but it's not fine as a philosophy to carry over into actual policy. It matters that we live in a world where women don't get a fair shake in politics, and it's not something you can just grit your teeth and get over.
-- Monica Potts
