Women in Society

All forty four U.S. Presidents have been men, and it appears if we get a new president in January it will also be a man. When you think of a president, boss, or other types of people in power you usually think of a man. It makes sense because it's all we've ever really known. For a majority of history, women couldn't hold positions of power. They were looked at as inferior to men. Over time, this stereotype has faded and now men and women are looked at as equals. However, we still don't see many women holding leadership positions. I think that although we view women as equal people, we may not see them as equal leaders. It might not be because we think they can't lead, but rather we've fallen into the commonplace world of only having men as leaders. Some people may have a fear of voting for a women as President. In my opinion, things probably would be different with a female president. However, this wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, especially when you look at how things aren't exactly perfect with our current government leaders. When women run for office such as president, they often try to act more like a man; less emotion, more strength, and try to seem as powerful as possible. This could be part of their problem. If they would just act like themselves, they may get more of a following. Society already has their own perceptions of them beforehand, so there's no point in trying to act like someone they aren't. They can't be exactly the same as a male leader, just as a man couldn't lead in the same way a woman could. As seen in the article about Hilary Clinton, the press was sort of making fun of her emotions. A man probably would not have cried in that situation, exposing one of the differences the American public would see with a female president. I liked the quote in The Iron Lady where Meryl Streep said, "I have done battle every single day of my life". This shows that although Margaret had never been to war, she was a fighter and she would fight for her country. The man from the military was talking down to her, but she showed him that she could hold just as much power as any man. I think the title "Iron Lady" is a testament to the strength and fortitude that Thatcher displayed, almost to say that she was "tough as nails". Although society looks differently at women as leaders, they could possibly offer alternative views on issues and improve certain deficiencies in government. I don't believe that society's gender stereotypes will ever be gone, but courageous women can work to improve their images in the public eye.