Who Runs The World (Women Politicians)
There were a lot of emotions on Election night, but from both parties that was something to celebrate: a record number of women in the US House of Representatives and US Congress.
On our first day in class, we discussed women's current status in politics. The number of Senators has increased from 17% to 20%, and the number of women in the House of Representatives has increased from 73 to 81 women. What these numbers mean is that women representation in Congress has now increased tenfold in the past twenty years. To put this great achievement in perspective, in 1991, when some of us were born, only 2 women were in the Senate. In 1992, which was laughably called "The Year of the Woman", 7 women comprised the Senate.
For several states, women were elected into the Senate for the first time in their state's history. Elizabeth Warren won over Scott Brown in a close race in Massachusetts, as well as in Nebraska, Hawaii, and Wisconsin. New Hampshire is also the first state to have an all-female delegation and governor, with Governor-elect Maggie Hassan and Representatives-elect Carol Shea-Porter and Annie Kuster. Additionally, being a female is not the only thing that makes this 2012 election so historical. Wisconsin's first Senator, Tammy Baldwin, is the first openly gay senator in the history of this country. Senator-elect of Hawaii, Mazie Hirono, is the first Asian-American woman in the Senate, as well being the first Buddhist. And women's voices were heard in Missouri, where candidate Todd Akin tried to redefine rape earlier in the election season, and Claire McCaskill defeated him in a very close race. After a debate earlier this year, Akin had said that McCaskill was too "aggressive"and that she should have been more "ladylike", as in previous debates. He assumed her aggressiveness in the debate was a sign of weakness, that she was threatened. This statement sums up exactly what women have faced this election, and in many states have defeated - gendered communication behavior and the language expectancy theory that keeps women from being as assertive as men in the political communications. As we discussed in our negative advertising section of this semester, our gendered communication behavior assumes that feminine communication must be nurturing, passive, and cooperative, while masculine communication is combative, assertive, and aggressive. Thusly, women face a dilemma because in political communications like negative ads and debates, they are most characteristic of masculine communication. And when women are aggressive in debates they violate our expectations, and are less successful. This leaves women at a severe disadvantage, but this year women triumphantly overcame this disadvantage and made history with record numbers.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York told the Huffington Post last year why women are so important to American politics. "When women are part of the negotiation and are part of decision-making, the outcomes are just better," Gillibrand said, "When we have our dinners with the women in the Senate — the Democrats and Republicans — we have so much common ground. We agree on so many basic principles and values. I think if there were more women at the decision-making table, we would get more things done."
No matter how you felt after Election Night, we can all be very excited that women were the real victors this election season. Not only did they break barriers as women, but sexuality, religion, and race also made historic strides within American politics. I think as students at a women's college, we can look at these historical results and appreciate how far women have come within our lifetime in American politics. I firmly believe that at this rate, we can hope to see a more balanced representation of women, 52% of the population, within the government.
Works Cited:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/07/us-usa-campaign-women-idUSBRE8A62MG20121107
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/women-senate-2012-election_n_2086093.html
http://jezebel.com/5958472/lesbians-immigrants-and-harvard-professors-get-to-know-your-trailblazing-lady-senators
On our first day in class, we discussed women's current status in politics. The number of Senators has increased from 17% to 20%, and the number of women in the House of Representatives has increased from 73 to 81 women. What these numbers mean is that women representation in Congress has now increased tenfold in the past twenty years. To put this great achievement in perspective, in 1991, when some of us were born, only 2 women were in the Senate. In 1992, which was laughably called "The Year of the Woman", 7 women comprised the Senate.
For several states, women were elected into the Senate for the first time in their state's history. Elizabeth Warren won over Scott Brown in a close race in Massachusetts, as well as in Nebraska, Hawaii, and Wisconsin. New Hampshire is also the first state to have an all-female delegation and governor, with Governor-elect Maggie Hassan and Representatives-elect Carol Shea-Porter and Annie Kuster. Additionally, being a female is not the only thing that makes this 2012 election so historical. Wisconsin's first Senator, Tammy Baldwin, is the first openly gay senator in the history of this country. Senator-elect of Hawaii, Mazie Hirono, is the first Asian-American woman in the Senate, as well being the first Buddhist. And women's voices were heard in Missouri, where candidate Todd Akin tried to redefine rape earlier in the election season, and Claire McCaskill defeated him in a very close race. After a debate earlier this year, Akin had said that McCaskill was too "aggressive"and that she should have been more "ladylike", as in previous debates. He assumed her aggressiveness in the debate was a sign of weakness, that she was threatened. This statement sums up exactly what women have faced this election, and in many states have defeated - gendered communication behavior and the language expectancy theory that keeps women from being as assertive as men in the political communications. As we discussed in our negative advertising section of this semester, our gendered communication behavior assumes that feminine communication must be nurturing, passive, and cooperative, while masculine communication is combative, assertive, and aggressive. Thusly, women face a dilemma because in political communications like negative ads and debates, they are most characteristic of masculine communication. And when women are aggressive in debates they violate our expectations, and are less successful. This leaves women at a severe disadvantage, but this year women triumphantly overcame this disadvantage and made history with record numbers.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York told the Huffington Post last year why women are so important to American politics. "When women are part of the negotiation and are part of decision-making, the outcomes are just better," Gillibrand said, "When we have our dinners with the women in the Senate — the Democrats and Republicans — we have so much common ground. We agree on so many basic principles and values. I think if there were more women at the decision-making table, we would get more things done."
No matter how you felt after Election Night, we can all be very excited that women were the real victors this election season. Not only did they break barriers as women, but sexuality, religion, and race also made historic strides within American politics. I think as students at a women's college, we can look at these historical results and appreciate how far women have come within our lifetime in American politics. I firmly believe that at this rate, we can hope to see a more balanced representation of women, 52% of the population, within the government.
Works Cited:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/07/us-usa-campaign-women-idUSBRE8A62MG20121107
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/women-senate-2012-election_n_2086093.html
http://jezebel.com/5958472/lesbians-immigrants-and-harvard-professors-get-to-know-your-trailblazing-lady-senators
posted by Mileva Brunson | 9:00 AM
4 Comments:
I find this very interesting. As mentioned women make up such a large portion of the population. but such a small percentage of politicians. I still find this sad, as it is clearly not representative of the country.
I applaud the senator who is openly gay. This shows courage as she is already out numbered and is comfortable to be open about her sexuality.
This should be a lesson for all people in the public eye and especially women.
PS. I look forward the day that we have women like London in politics!
This comment has been removed by the author.
I thought that it was exciting seeing more women head into higher political office this year. I think this is even more interesting with the talk about Hilary Clinton running for president in 2016. Women are starting to gain more attention in politics and as we have discussed in class women were a key part of the 2012 election.
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