Interesting Article On The Breakthroughs And Setbacks Of White Women During The 2008 Campaign Season - Women Of Color Once Again Excluded
I'm not sure of the point or value of this article. It's an interesting, but disturbing read. This article should have been entitled, the Bitch, the Ditz, and the Forgotten because women of color were not included. You can't have the "year of the women" if you are only talking about white women. As a woman of color neither one of these women represent me or appeal to me in any fashion. I find that very troubling.
It amazes me that 30 years after the modern women's movement began, the discussion is still just about white women, their issues, their whining and complaining, their unhappiness, their triumphs, and their failures. I for one, believe that this focus has become tired, stale, boring, and pointless. It's time for white women to realize they are not the only women in the world - that they are not the universal example for all women.
And I am not at all convinced that all the white women that supported Clinton or Palin would EVER support a woman of color running for office with the same passion. Women of color either need to get more aggressive about getting into politics or more insistent about having their views heard. Women of color should be disturbed at the defining of all women by the measurements of white women's perceptions, views, and wants, and needs.
I am highly irritated at how some white women have decided to define Michelle Obama and her decision to take a very low-key role in her first year as First Lady. If I read again that Michelle Obama is turning into a 1950s housewife one more time, I'll scream. She's the first black woman in the white house who is not a maid, cook, or infrequent guest - she needs to look out for her young children and for herself. That's not a 1950s housewife, that's a black woman protecting her family.
And I am quite sure that Michelle Obama has not forgotten what happened early in the campaign when she DARED to honestly express herself as a black woman and she better always remember to tread lightly because "the angry black woman" stereotype is never too far away.
