but I’m still intrigued by the Feminist Obama-Clinton debate. As a feminist, do you support the female or the feminist? Or one of the other democratic candidates (actually, as a Green, I support Kucinich. I find Hillary’s nomination problematic because she really is the first woman to be within spitting distance of the Oval Office (although, my father likes to say that she’s already been president) and I would love for the United States to have a woman president. If only to show Ann Coulter that she’s ignorant. But her recent voting record & positions belie what I remember of her stint as First Lady. She also does not seem to me to be anxious to broadcast her actual positions on issues that matter to me.
So: is it better to vote for the woman (since she has a good chance of making history) or for the man whose positions you support? For various opinions, Gloria Steinem has an article discussing this and Feministing has an interesting discussion.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Johnny // Feb 1, 2007 at 12:42 pm
I consider myself a feminist and I do think it would significant to have a woman president. But it’s hard for me to see the logic in voting on that reason alone. I am pretty critical of people who vote on a single issue and it would be hypocritical of me to do the same. Further, as far as reasons go, i think other concerns should far outweigh the grounds gained by feminism if a woman becomes president.
2 nee // Feb 1, 2007 at 9:25 pm
I think voting for someone because of their gender and not because of their position on issues (or lack or waffling thereof) is apalling.
Of course how many Mormons will vote for Mitt without know a thing about him except he’s a Mormon?
Sigh. I love being registered independent.
If I could do anything differently about this election it would be to have all state primaries for the presidency on the SAME DAY and the subsequent run offs on the SAME DAY. It sucks that 2 or 3 states basically determine who the 2 ‘big guns’ will be.
3 Miko // Feb 2, 2007 at 8:58 am
nee: I like that idea. California’s discussing changing its primary so that we can be just as cool as Ohio is! Reminds me of 2nd grade…
4 John Remy // Feb 2, 2007 at 9:31 am
It sucks that 2 or 3 states basically determine who the 2 ‘big guns’ will be.
I agree. Iowa and New Hampshire should not wield such power.
The position echoed by Miko and Johnny (i.e., the choice between a woman or a feminist) seems to be reflected by many feminist bloggers. I agree with Johnny that it’s problematic to select a candidate based on a single issue, but I don’t deny that this is a high, if not top, priority issue for many women/feminists (we all have our issues
).
One of my favorite feminist bloggers (Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon just got picked up by the Edwards campaign. I have mixed feelings about this, but you can bet that I’m going to take a closer look at Edwards now as a possibility.
5 nee // Feb 2, 2007 at 7:05 pm
btw, I’m all for nixing Clinton, Obama, and Romney as token representatives of various factions because we can roll them all up into the same person. Go Gladys! lol
6 John // Feb 2, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Plus, she can sing!
7 nee // Feb 6, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Miko, are you a knitter? John may find this interesting as well. I ran across a great blog tonight - Green knitters in the green party! Pretty cool. Activism, recycling, and yarn abounds there.
8 Miko // Feb 6, 2007 at 7:32 pm
nice! great site. I’m not a knitter. I crocheted (and really enjoyed it) once upon a long time ago. I cross stitch under duress. I sew joyfully (including piecing quilts, not quilting them, and devising various ways to avoid quilting them). I think often that I should learn to knit, but the few times that I was confronted with needles, I didn’t really take to it.
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