The Glass Ceiling: 18 Million Cracks and Counting

In Senator Clinton's speech on Saturday, when she gave up her place in the race for President and gave her support to Senator Obama, she mentioned not having broken the "glass ceiling."

But she had made "18 million cracks in it."

I've thought a lot about Clinton's speech- at least what I've read, the clips I've seen. I could not watch it. It made me too sad. I believe she was the stronger and better of the candidates. I believe she was electable.

Mostly, though? She was a woman. As my friend said to me when I was considering who to vote for, whom to support, you've waited your whole life to see a woman in this place.

I have.

As a kid, I never understood why women or girls were treated differently. I could throw just as far and spit just as well. I knew when my mother would say girls don't do that... if I asked why... I was fortunate in that she thought about it and if she couldn't come up with an answer that made any sense, she let me do it.

As a young woman, I found myself bound by gender definitions that did not fit me. While it was acceptable to be a 'tom boy' as a girl, growing into adulthood, the expectations came crashing down on me. As I reached puberty, I was to be more feminine. I was expected to wear make up. I was expected to wear dresses in certain social situations. In my first job after college, my review included a note to be more feminine in appearance. My work was exceptional- but they requested more skirts, perhaps some heels.

I was a catering manager. I worked 12-hour days on my feet. Heels?

While my fellow co-worker, who wore the same suit day in and day out, with comfortable shoes, received a glowing review.

It didn't matter how he looked as long as he was neat. Groomed.

I was neat and groomed. I wore tailored women's suits- just with pants instead of skirts. It wasn't good enough.

I began to see how the world was made to fit men. Silly things, like the fact that our zippers are on the side or in the back of our clothes. More serious things like our legal rights to decide about our bodies being defined by government.

Can you image laws protecting sperm?

Why not?

Because, as I've found over and over again in my life, the gender roles women have been assigned are to keep power firmly in the hands of men.

As a parent, I have become keenly aware of gender roles and identification. Raising three boys, I see how being labeled "feminine" or in any way female is a disgrace to them. Sissy, wimp, Nancy boy... all references to a male as being less than, not good enough.

All references to a male being female.

Why?

After all, women can give birth, heal in a short period of time, and feed a human infant for up to a year without anything but her body.

Is that a definition of weakness? Or power?

Why is it okay to call a woman a bitch, to comment on her clothes, laugh and hairstyle instead of taking her seriously as a candidate? Or worse- making it part of the serious discussion or her as a candidate?

Why did my son tell me, Mom, Clinton will never win. She's a woman.

At 12 years old.

Girls may outperform boys in schools but the lessons being taught are far from anything we want our girls to learn. Just as a system that creates a 70% failure rate in African American boys has been successfully designed to fail those children, a system that sends girls out into the world with straight A's only to face from boardroom to courtroom, from pregnancy to contraception, from unequal pay to domestic violence, being handed the short end of the stick.

How do we dissect what is being taught to girls? And boys? How do we look at the gender role creation in our society? How do we evaluate all of our lives with a gender lens?

As I said to a friend yesterday, it's not simply about sexism. It's not only about the negative images but also about what are we reinforcing as positive behavior. Why are girls getting "good grades" and still unable to break through glass ceilings? How is our educational system failing girls?

And in turn, failing boys?

Personally, I don't want women's power to be defined as what a white man has. I don't want that- it's only led to haves and have nots, war and caste systems that have served no one but the master on top. Women are more intuitive, creative and linear is only something you hang laundry on outside. We value our children and instinctively move to protect them, protect the future of humanity. We move in public and private roles, often at great cost.

We must do more, be more conscious and question the roles we learn at 3, 4 and 5 years old. Gender is not biological but a social construct. We must find a way to teach our girls and boys the value of women's roles and the power behind them. We must flip the images on their side and reconsider what they mean.

Because, clearly, 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling is not enough to crash it down.

Comments

[Nommo]

So, which Hillary is it? The one who failed so miserably the first time around with the health plan? The one accused of stealing money from old people? The friend of Black people Hillary? The Marc Rich advocate Hillary? Travelgate Hillary? The bulldog Hillary that Flowers, Willey and Jones know, to name a few? Geez, so many Hillarys, so little time...

[Hmmm624]

I want a female president. It's about f*cking time, but I had higher stardards for Hillary, especially because she is a woman. She should have ran a better campaign than Obama.....­he simply has a greater mind, and clearer vision. It was an unfair pairing. Because he infused the caomaping with his own style and mission. I believe that was her downfall, she listened to other people - while Obama was running his own show.

We need moe women in the senate and in congress. I hope that in the presidential elections of the years to come, we will have more female candidates, every cicle....a­nd hopefully elect a brilliant mind with a clear vision for the country.

I empathize and understand that being so closely attached to the idea of Hillary, is it not possible to see it that way, she wasn't the right candidate.

Obama had power on his side, she was using force.

[SevenLevels]

I find that most women who are angry about Hillary losing feel the same way as you:
You say you think she's the stronger and better candidate, but "Mostly, though? She was a woman."
I find that sentiment much more prevalent among Hillary supporters than Obama supporters. If you ask Obama supporters why they want him to win, they can rattle off a laundry list of reasons. When I've quizzed Hillary supporters about their candidate, they'll give a few examples, but come back to "Mostly, though? She was a woman."
That is why she lost. Her supporters were more passionate about breaking the glass ceiling than in Hillary's ability to lead this nation.
As far as the sexism of the campaign..­. I could see it, somewhat. However, I don't think there was any more sexism in the primary than there was racism.
I understand your feelings about growing up not understanding why boys and girls are different, but black Americans can claim the exact same feelings. And about your son saying Hillary won't win because she's a woman? I've had LOTS of people tell me Obama can't win because he's black (including Obama supporters).
My point is, a lot of hay is being made out of Hillary's gender now that the race is over, but gender was not the deciding factor for her campaign. Hillary would have won had she run a tighter campaign, not if she had a penis.
Peace,
Kelly

[BookQueen]

With all sympathy for the disappointment of not having a woman President, I wish Hilary supporters would remember this:

If Obama had lost, many of us would be crying because we weren't sure when we'd have our next chance to see a black President. Obama faces racism. It's not a one-sided thing here.

[SaraWhitman]

No question about it, BookQueen.

but that doesn't mean we shouldn't grieve it.

I have repeatedly, strongly endorsed and supported Obama's campaign. I am very excited by the prospect of having the first African-American President.

it's not mutually exclusive.

[jacksonadams]

oh cry me a river
she was the weakest (subjectively) and most dishonest (objectively) candidate with far more a disapproval rating than any other candidate, republican or democrat -- something she's clearly invested a lot of words in becoming. she is the cliche of a spinless, toothless democrat that has all but enabled this criminal white house to become what it has.

but you're willing to overlook anything just because she was born a woman, aren't you?

I'd happily vote for a credible, honest and intelligent female candidate that _didn't_ consistently lie, didn't vote for the iraq war and didn't actively choose to run a campaign that would've made even karl rove cringe. I voted for the other candidate. and why is that? rather than enumerating the reasons why i happily voted for obama, i can assure you that it wasn't because of his gender.

[SaraWhitman]

That is your opinion of her as a candidate and that's fine. it was not mine. I felt she was by far the strongest candidate and I don't agree with your evaluation.

Not really the point of the piece.

[Artistry]

...Hi there, I would like to see a woman in a dress, being who she is and not trying to be a man. To me that is insulting to womanhood, men can't be women, and certainly probably would not want to, so why would a woman have to try to be a man. Being able to give birth is one of the beauties of being a waoman, we can't do it (conceive ), without a man, but what an event to give birth to another human being. To raise children (along with a good husband hopefully) who go out into the world and contribute, women are mostly repsonible for this, as men go out to be the breadwinners, well maybe some families need two breadwinners now adays, but the mother sets the tone in the house. If you have an uncaring, undisciplined mother, the child will certainly fare the same. mom becomes the closer role model. Women are to be commended, we might not have as many wars, if women were
more in charge of Governments, we would talk more, before shooting. I also feel our courts need more women in them, but that's a discussion for another time.

[SaraWhitman]

I hate dresses. I think they are stupid. That doesn't mean I want to be a man. I agree, it is insulting to womanhood but not because we can't be men but because why the hell would we want to?

and we do need a lot more women in the public sphere. the only way that can happen is if more men take roles in the private sphere. my goodness, we cannot do everything!

[PookyShoehorn]

I think this is a great post, Sara. And the comments I read here so far simply prove your point. You want to have an intelligent discussion on gender issues? Not in the Democratic party, apparently. We're still blatantly going to hold Hillary Clinton to different standards than her male opponent when it comes to personal wealth, confidence, and campaign statements.

[devadasi]

I thought your article was interesting. It made me think of China when it was under the leadership of Mao; a tme when men and women dressed the same, where women wore pants and no make-up. It looked like a pretty dismal situation to me. As a middle aged woman I have not been able to find suitable employment for the last two years, because of age discrimation. But I do know that men are discriminated because of age too. I believe that if Hillary Clinton had found her voice last year as opposed to a couple of months ago she may have won the nomination. What I find disturbing about Clinton is that she never had to stand on her own two feet. She went from her parents home to college to marriage. I just don't respect that kind of journey.

[SaraWhitman]

Listen, we are born into families, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Clinton's dedication to being a public servant through all the name calling, harassment, and bullshit makes me respect her.

she might not have ever needed to borrow ten bucks to get food on the table but she's ensured a whole lot more than anyone I know ever has.

[Filegirl]

"Personally, I don't want women's power to be defined as what a white man has. I don't want that- it's only led to haves and have nots, war and caste systems that have served no one but the master on top. Women are more intuitive, creative and linear is only something you hang laundry on outside. We value our children and instinctively move to protect them, protect the future of humanity. We move in public and private roles, often at great cost."

I find this quote, especially the first line, really sad when thinking about Hillary. She felt that she had to ape the worst characteristics of what male politicians have had to offer in order to win. I hope the next woman who runs for President is confident enought to ditch the "testicular fortitude" crap.

[jhamm1]

One more crack (no pun intended) about those "18 million cracks", and I'm gonna loose my lunch.

Granted, we've heard these arguments before, and ultimately, setting a precedent which decrees that a female candidate should be evaluated on the basis of her gender and nothing more, and further sending a messages that one can always exploit the bigotry of small-town white bred America in the event that one's apponent haappens to be an African American male performs a disservice to feminism and the world

[hopeless277]

Very unfortunate term you're using there. Anyway, why don't those 18 million cracks ante up for the Hillionaires campagn debt? Millionaires can't just spend their own money on debt they personally ran up, can they?