Angela Merkel will become the first female Chancellor of Germany as early as the 18th of Oct. This may sound like news on the women’s rights front to our American ears but the fact that she is a woman is at best a non-issue around the rest of the world. The true story to the rest of the world is the power coalition that will be formed as part of the agreement between the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats that allowed Angela Merkel to finally claim victory in the election.
I am writing this article not to share the political workings of a foreign government, but to contrast the United States against a country like Germany and many others. If a female president was elected in this country, you could bet your bottom dollar that the news would focus on the gender of our new Commander and Chief, regardless of the politics that put the person in that position.
I think this says something about our countries media priorities. A woman leader in Europe is just another leader, however a woman leader here would be “THE FIRST WOMAN LEADER!!” Why should this be a big deal, do we actually care, or would it be something big media would put to the forefront of its headlines because they think its more important than any number of other possible stories.
What does this say about our country? If indeed the public views it as a major step forward in gender equality, doesn’t that mean that up to the point of electing a female president, the public sees the U.S. is lacking in equality? That is the picture it would portray if the big news was the gender and not the qualifications of the individual.
As a country, the U.S. has its prejudices, primarily the segregation of the poor from the wealthy, not a prejudice against women in responsible roles, or a prejudice against blacks or Hispanics or Native Americans. So when the time comes to elect our first female president I hope that her policies, not her gender, are the important news of the day.
Think about it, Perihelion
I am writing this article not to share the political workings of a foreign government, but to contrast the United States against a country like Germany and many others. If a female president was elected in this country, you could bet your bottom dollar that the news would focus on the gender of our new Commander and Chief, regardless of the politics that put the person in that position.
I think this says something about our countries media priorities. A woman leader in Europe is just another leader, however a woman leader here would be “THE FIRST WOMAN LEADER!!” Why should this be a big deal, do we actually care, or would it be something big media would put to the forefront of its headlines because they think its more important than any number of other possible stories.
What does this say about our country? If indeed the public views it as a major step forward in gender equality, doesn’t that mean that up to the point of electing a female president, the public sees the U.S. is lacking in equality? That is the picture it would portray if the big news was the gender and not the qualifications of the individual.
As a country, the U.S. has its prejudices, primarily the segregation of the poor from the wealthy, not a prejudice against women in responsible roles, or a prejudice against blacks or Hispanics or Native Americans. So when the time comes to elect our first female president I hope that her policies, not her gender, are the important news of the day.
Think about it, Perihelion
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