so, about palin.
Sep. 12th, 2008 09:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
keryxI am bothered by some of the gender-focused rhetoric about Palin. I am also - don't mistake me here - bothered by her.
But. I've heard the "if Palin gets the votes for McCain, that means women are crazy and irrational and vote for people who are like them" argument. Well. DUH. Everyone votes a little bit irrationally. How else do you think Bush II got elected [Meaning, whatever you think about his politics, one of his selling points in his first campaign was personableness.]?
This seems like yet another way of accusing women of being the sole owners of a trait that is a) human and b) not inherently that bad. It's not wrong to vote for someone in part because they're relatable. In many ways being human and genuine makes a person better at leading.
Palin is human and genuine and believes a lot of things I find DEEPLY DISTURBING AND WRONG. But I don't think people/women who agree with her and also think she'd make a nice party guest are being irrational, hysterical wimminfolk. They're just being people I disagree with.
But. I've heard the "if Palin gets the votes for McCain, that means women are crazy and irrational and vote for people who are like them" argument. Well. DUH. Everyone votes a little bit irrationally. How else do you think Bush II got elected [Meaning, whatever you think about his politics, one of his selling points in his first campaign was personableness.]?
This seems like yet another way of accusing women of being the sole owners of a trait that is a) human and b) not inherently that bad. It's not wrong to vote for someone in part because they're relatable. In many ways being human and genuine makes a person better at leading.
Palin is human and genuine and believes a lot of things I find DEEPLY DISTURBING AND WRONG. But I don't think people/women who agree with her and also think she'd make a nice party guest are being irrational, hysterical wimminfolk. They're just being people I disagree with.
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Date: 2008-09-12 02:28 pm (UTC)One thing that's bugging me is how much sexist rhetoric her opponents are using. It sounds like a big double standard to me. A well-known feminist writer used a lap dance analogy. If anyone on the other side had trotted that out for Hilary there would have been an outcry. It almost seems like the rationale is that because she is pretty it's okay to pull out the sexist slurs, which is all kinds of wrong.