( - promoted by Mik Moore)
said Pat Schroeder at the Drum Major Institute on Monday morning during a discussion on "Rumors of our Progress have been Greatly Exaggerated" I was excited about the event questioning how far women have come in closing the gender gap, increasing political power and participation, implementing policies congruent with their interests, as well as hearing from some power hitters- Christina Quinn, Caroline Maloney, Pat Schroeder, and three other women I hadn’t heard of before, but was equally excited about. (Surprisingly) I got there early, and it started late, so there was general milling around the lobby, which, of course, means solid people watching time. I was immediately struck by Congresswoman Maloney’s outfit in comparison with her much younger staffer, and was thinking about generational differences in the power “feminine” appearance. Whereas Maloney had a shockingly bright skirt suite dealy, stiff (dyed) blond hair, and really high heels, the twenty something wore nice gray pants, sleeveless white shirt, and really high heels. This led my mind to wander to female power and the role image maintenance and presentation play. Why do so many powerful women wear high heels and conform to what I see as oppressive norms of beauty? Especially the heels! What says dependency more than shoes that make it harder to walk, just so your ass sticks out at a (supposedly) appealing angle and you display your calf muscles? So, I decided to take a tally of the ratio of flats: heels, and found it to be 63% Flats, 37% Heels, with only 17% being of the deadliest nature, the unconquerable (for me) high heel. [There were also eleven men, whose shoes I did not count.] Then as we were sitting down, I had an inkling that maybe my train of thought was a bit...off message? The woman sitting next to me, from TW 100, (who got me to shake Speaker Quinn's hand while my mouth was stuffed with fruit, good look) commented "it looks like The View up there". Really? Really!? Problem is, she was kind of right. The primary imagery associated with women sitting around and discussing is not a policy forum, but a talk show. But, talk policy they did. Oy vey. How come she was judging such dynamic women by their 'appearance'...wait, how come I was counting heels? The conversation was brilliant moderated, ranging from the gender pay differential, intersectionality of race, immigration status and gender, the ERA (R.I.P), paid family leave, glass ceiling, niche vs. agenda mobilization, misogynistic media, opportunity vs. access to reproductive health, why the progressive agenda is the women's agenda, and that MORE WOMEN NEED TO RUN FOR OFFICE. Maybe they did not say it that loudly, or that frequently, but I definitely left with a guilt trip for not planning my path to political office. Rundown of the most interesting, insightful, or triggering comments after the jump. [It's like liveblogging... only from my notes.] Click here to hear from the speakers themselves.
|
