"Am*BITCH*ous" Women, Presidential Aspirations -- and the B-Word

As a presidential candidate, one can expect to be called many things, especially if you're a woman and in the lead. But this past Monday, when a constituent asked Republican candidate John McCain a question about his Democratic rival, Senator Hillary Clinton, and referred to her using the b-word, we crossed a new threshold in the era of name-calling. The fact that the constituent who raised the question also happened to be a woman was a double-whammy.

The location was Hilton Head, South Carolina. The occasion was a public forum where the Republican presidential candidate was scheduled to appear. The question was, "How do we beat the bitch?" Senator McCain, obviously uncomfortable, initially offered to give a translation. But with a swift change of heart, he called it an "excellent question" but never reprimanded the constituent. Then he proceeded to answer the question, understanding clearly to whom it referred. He said, "there was a poll yesterday that shows me three points ahead of Senator Clinton in a head-to-head match up. I respect Mrs. Clinton".

Thus far, the reaction has focused on Senator McCain and his handling of the question. Some folks think he should have taken the constituent to task. Yet others are of the opinion that he could have 'defused the moment more artfully'.

But the burning question I have is, why did the constituent feel comfortable raising the question -- phrased in such a manner -- in a public forum? I found some answers to my question in a book titled am*BITCH*ous: Learn to be Her Now, written by psychologist Dr. Debra Condren. She notes, "there is just one word that our culture bestows on that supremely ambitious woman who unrepentantly values a career: bitch. It's our prevailing cultural paradigm: ambitious men are go-getters, but ambitious women are bitches".

The constituent's behavior was evocative of the sentiment that prevailed in the aftermath of Carly Fiorina's ouster as Chair and CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Many people -- both men and women -- felt Carly had got her just dessert for being an overly ambitious woman, or that she had lost her "gender groove" in her quest to reach the top. Maybe the constituent this past Monday was hoping likewise to bring Senator Clinton down a notch or two.

As Dr. Condren observes, "our culture encourages women to derive [a] sense of self from being selfless, by giving to everyone else first and foremost". To the contrary, when I packed my bags and set off for college, my Grandma Mavis's farewell advice was "we are sending you to get an education, not to find a husband". Dr. Condren wonders, "wouldn't it be great if women could ignore what our culture thinks about high-achieving women and eliminate the fear part of our ambition equation?"

Come on, dare to be amBITCHous!

Comments

[eaglecapri]

One more thing....

The supporter also sounded as if she was providing a bit of comic relief to how she truly felt towards Clinton. Yes, we should 'crucify' her for being so upfront, crude, vulgar and public about it. Sometimes, there are things one must not say AT ALL or in public. But please do not allow us to believe that we cannot label someone a b*tch...even if she is. It definitely is an impolite term, but sometimes a b*tch is a b*tch is a b*tch!

Clinton is far from being a b*tch, but everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

[eaglecapri]

'The fact that the constituent who raised the question also happened to be a woman was a double-whammy.'

I totally disagree with this above statement! A double-whammy? Get real! Women call other women bitches 'ALL' the time! Because, guess what, sometimes they are! Men call other men a**holes or d*cks, but we seldom bat an eyelash. Whether the McCain supporter referred to Clinton as a b*tch just because she was ambitious, we'll never know. But maybe, just maybe, in her eyes and opinion she was calling a spade a spade.

And people who think ambitious women are b*tches just because they are ambitious are either 1) ignorant or 2) threatened by women in power (men and women of all levels (executives and subordinates)). Therefore, they should not get any attention in this matter.

[gevan]

I never saw the questioner mention Hillary Clinton's name. I thought she probably was referring to Rudi Giuliani, what with his propensity to dress up in women's clothes and all.

[bethinCary]

I grew up in SC. The nastiness of the McCain fan shows the mentality of the uneducated "trophy wives' who think they are educated. as long as they are take care of-they just keep thier mouths shut and go right along with the boys club there. Either last year or the yr. before, there was also some nastiness in the Spartanburg GOP. Recall, also, SC was where Rove tried to smear McCain with the illigitimate daughter question on a phone survey.
The SC GOP especially, when compared to other states-still seems left back in the stone ages-by playing to racism...Like current-day Strom Thurmonds, looking closer at the Ravenels and other GOP "Southern-fried" families there-may shed some light on the nastiness.

[JoDeeVa]

People call Hillary Clinton a bitch, because she is a powerful and ambitious woman, however for those people who call her bitch, it is a reflection of them and how they view powerful women.

When a man is called a bitch, it carries the opposite sentiment of power, as in soandso is soandso's bitch..an underling, sub-ordinate or in prison.
Historically...
~ female slaves were identified as bitches on the auction block.
~ Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue - Captain Grose et al - 1811: "A she dog, or doggess; the most offensive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore, as may he gathered from the regular Billinsgate or St. Giles's answer -- 'I may be a whore, but can't be a bitch.'"

I think people do use it mindlessly in our culture. However, I think somehow people feel warranted and empowered in calling Hillary a bitch, she deserves it.
I also agree with you on that same kind of justification used for Carly Fiorina. I heard the same thing said about Martha Stewart. I guess it should be somewhat encouraging that the term has moved from "worse than a whore" to ambitious woman, eh? It's just that for some people, they mean the same!

Not much more to say except woman to woman..
Yo, "am*bitch*ious" woman, you go girl!

[Tellmethetruth]

Let's quit wasting time on dribble like this and focus on authentic news like Pakistan disintegrating with nukes and the population to survive a nuclear war - Iran who wants nukes, Iraq and that mess, the housing market woes, the major bankruptcy of several major mortgage banks, the falling US dollar, and trillion dollar debt all the not so soon retirees must pay for, the lack of health insurance, the global climate changes, etc. etc.

Then after looking at reality - look again at who is running for President and Joe Biden's name should come up every single time as the most responsible, intelligent, experienced, honest, charming, and the only with a resume' that can produce legislation and diplomacy.

We need the world to unite with us not against us, and Joe Biden can heal the damaged reputation of America around the world. We need someone who can get laws passed by Congress - he does now and can do it as President.

The three front-runners who the Republican owned corporate media have picked have no resume', no experience, and are high risk candidates. Why would anyone in congress listen to a President who has never passed a bill into law? All these "plans" "theories" proposed are high risk and neither of these candidates has been on a world stage, has respect of world leaders, and can perform except for Joe Biden, possibly Richardson and Dodd. But, Joe Biden is a guaranteed winner, not a risk.

[nunzia]

I have another question: WHO is the woman who asked that question? If she had been an advocate for the left wing, by now the reichwing would have smeared her name all over the airwaves, they'd have posted her phone number and address on the Net, and she'd be trashed round the clock for a couple of weeks.

Indeed, the reichwing does that to children who speak out for medical care!!

And yet another question: why ARE reichwing bitches cloaked with immunity? Could it be that hubby's rich and powerful? Or daddy?

[realitytrumpsbull]

Yeah well, pottymouth is often an immediate
clue to the mental level the user is on at
the time of the utterance, one can only
hope that other people don't develop a bad
case of guttermouth in front of the microphone,
I mean, on one side there's kind of a quaint
charm involved in converting a session of
public political discourse into an impromptu
staging of past Jerry Springer shows, it sure
would be funny to watch the bouncers run up
on stage at the next convention, but at the
same time, there's honestly no place for that
stuff. If only such mental energy were to be
invested in greening up the roads...

[kasjuh]

My take on this is that this woman (and sadly, there are more like her) has publicly taken herself onto the low road, a place from whence she will never emerge, no matter how she rationalizes it. Too bad.