Where Do Women Stand in Politics?
By Ashley Fleishman, Political Theory & Philosophy Staff Writer

After years of being over looked, women are finally starting to be recognized politically. After this past midterm election, there are more women senators then there have ever been. There, however, still exists one concept that can destroy a female politician, feminism. By simply being associated with feminism, a political career can be ruined. While feminism is a positive idea, the desire for equality of the genders, several negative ideas associated with feminism have caused it be an “ism” of destruction.

First, we must look at the relationship between feminism and sexism. Sexism, discrimination based on gender, is a negative idea that has become closely related to feminism tarnishing its good name. Feminism is actually the efforts to combat sexism, but somehow that has become lost in everyday language. This could be because over time as women became more equal the idea of feminism started to feel like the desire to dominate the male gender. 1

Hillary Clinton represents one of the controversial women of our time. She actually does not hold many of the feminist values: child care, pregnant women, or prenatal care, but our society sees her as a feminist. She is seen so because she seems domineering and powerful. A fear of feminism that is developed from the negative connotations allow Hillary to become a scapegoat, thus tarnishing her name. [1]

Domination over the male gender exists nowhere in the actual definition of feminism, but it has instead been adopted by some of the extremists. Yet, as in any political “ism” there will be extremes. They exist in liberalism, conservatism, and feminism. We must look past these extremes to see what feminism and feminists are really trying to do, achieve equality. The desire to dominate the male gender by these women feminists is just another form of sexism, but instead of the male culprit, it is women creating this serious offense. If women really want equality they must give up this desire to dominate, the extremes must disappear because it is destroying the good name of the women who just want to be looked at as equals with men.

The extreme ideas that have become associated with feminism lately could be as the basic concepts of feminism have changed over time. When women first acquired the vote in 1920 when the 19^th amendment was ratified, their desire was to exist in their own society. [2]

They wanted the vote to control the aspects of their household, to vote for such issues that affected their families and morals. They wanted the vote for what at the time was considered their own women’s world. As society has developed women have began to enter the man’s world. Today there exists no separation between the genders; we live in one society and because of this feminism has changed slightly. Feminism is still the fight for equality, but because the two separate societies have merged people think that our country is one of complete equality (or as much as it will ever be) and so feminism can no longer be the search for equality but something much more forceful and strong. It is not. It is still the fight for equality. Just because there is only one society of both men and women does not mean women have equality. A population percentage report stated that women made up 51% of the total population but they only control 16 seats in the Senate and 71 in the house. [iii] Being 51% of the population it does not seem like women have full equality, even in today’s society.

Feminism involves more extremes, such as controversial legislation. Things like abortion or the right of lesbian women to adopt children. [iv] The idea of feminism does not encompass these things, they are instead just ideas that maybe women who also believe in feminism have. Association with these ideas may make feminism seem like a crazy new radical idea, because of the timeliness of these ideas and the controversy they bring to politics today. We cannot allow these ideas to connect to the definition of feminism. If feminists believe in these ideas and want to speak for them they can, but they cannot become an adopted form of feminism and the public should not see it that way. Adoption of such radical ideas creates more controversy over feminism, and it is not a new or controversial idea but one that stems deep into our past and has become a strong part of our society.

Feminism has come a long way and because of its achievements, women are now allowed the right to vote, the right to office, and the right to state their opinions. While the water that surrounds the idea has gotten slightly muddy, the idea is still clear in to people. As society develops, even though it has such negative connotations and many people view it as a negative idea, the idea gets slightly stronger. Women are becoming more empowered as time goes by and as women; gain strength so does the idea of feminism. Society may have roots in a patriarchal system but the system is changing.

It may take time but once feminism is seen as a positive idea, any remnants of the old patriarchal society will be gone. The job of feminism can only be complete once it looses this negative idea. Along with furthering the rights of women, the idea of feminism must be furthered. More people need to begin to see it as a positive movement and not one of negativity, and once its negative impact is gone, feminism will be free to grow and prosper.

1 Z. Einsenstein, J. Dean, Eds. Feminism of the North and West for Export: Transnational Capital and the Racializing of Gender (Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1997).

2 E. B. Freedman, T. M. Davis, & L. K. Kerber, Eds. Feminism, Sexuality, and Politics (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press).

3 R. E. Spraggins, Women and Men in the United States: March 2002. U.S. Census Bureau: available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-544.pdf (accessed April 20, 2007).

4 Freedman.