Introduction to Gender and Presidency
When candidates are running for the position of the president of the United States, in addition to their central ideas they present, citizens who are voting also focus on the things that candidates can’t change about themselves, such as gender, race, or sexual orientation. One of the most controversial topics of the United States today, and always throughout history, is the argument on if the United States should have a female president. Is today's America ready for a woman president? This essay is devoted to this topic.
There are currently 15 women leading their countries around the world, yet the United States, one of the strongest and most powerful countries in the world has not had a female president. The reasons as to why the United States should already have a female president include, but are not limited to, preventing history from repeating itself, helping improve equal rights for women, and providing a new perspective for the benefit of the country.
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Historical Struggle for Women’s Rights
The first reason as to why the United States should already have a female president is because it could improve equal rights for women. Throughout history, women have been fighting for the rights that they have today, such as working in the workforce, the right to an education, and the right to vote. Although women have made much progress towards equal rights with men, there is still a significant way to go. A female president of the United States could help acquire equal gender healthcare, and help with the wage gap issue in America. “The issue of women's rights was particularly controversial. Women had, of course, been active in the abolitionist movement from its inception, but primarily in female-only societies. In the late 1830s, however, activists Sarah and Angelina Grimké brought the issue of women's rights to the forefront. The Grimké sisters were daughters of a South Carolina slaveholder but disagreed with their parents' slaveholding practices and left for the North. They began publicly speaking against slavery, first to female audiences and later to those of mixed gender. Their activities brought condemnation from ministers in other denominations for taking part in unfeminine activities” (Berlet, Ira Lee). In this quote, the author is speaking about the abolitionist movement, and mentions two sisters named Sarah and Angelina Grimké, whose parents were slave owners. The Grimké sisters did not agree with their parents’ slave holding practices, and fled to the North, where slavery was not legal. After settling in the North, the sisters began speaking in the anti-slavery movements, and became activists for the abolition movement. This quote supports the claim that the United States should have a female president because, during the time period of this quote, slavery was very popular, especially in the south. It required courage and true passion, shown by the Grimké sisters, to stand up against their parents’ beliefs, supporting something that was so prominent in where they live. If a female was elected for the President of the United States, they could show those qualities, about a national problem occurring in America at that time, and help change it for the better.
A New Perspective: Women in Leadership
The second reason as to why the United States should already have a female president is because it could provide a new perspective for all citizens in the United States. In previous elections, citizens have voted for the part that their respective candidate represents, without fully understanding or agreeing with all of their fundamental values. This can lead to conflict between parties and eventually leads to overall tension in the United States. With all of the previous Presidents of the United States being male, a female president could help provide a new perspective accompanied with new ideas that people want to listen to, and help prevent some of this tension. “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And we formed it, not to give the blessings of liberty, but to secure them; not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to the whole people—women as well as men. And it is a downright mockery to talk to women of their enjoyment of the blessings of liberty while they are denied the use of the only means of securing them provided by this democratic-republican government—the ballot. For any state to make sex a qualification that must ever result in the disfranchisement of one entire half of the people is to pass a bill of attainder, or an ex post facto law, and is therefore a violation of the supreme law of the land. By it the blessings of liberty are forever withheld from women and their female posterity. To them this government has no just powers derived from the consent of the governed. To them this government is not a democracy. It is not a republic. It is an odious aristocracy; a hateful oligarchy of sex; the most hateful aristocracy ever established on the face of the globe; an oligarchy of wealth, where the rich govern the poor” (Susan B. Anthony). The quote above is taken directly from a speech made by Susan B. Anthony. She is openly speaking on the fact that women are not treated as equally as men are. This speech eventually led to a movement known as the Women's Suffrage Movement in 1848. In this time period, to be strong enough to stand up for what you believe in, required a great amount of courage. Susan B. Anthony provided a new perspective for the people of the United States, that women deserve the same rights and treatment that men are entitled to. The reason that this quote supports the claim that the United States should have a female president, is because in the quote Susan B. Anthony provided a new perspective to the citizens of the United States in a way that they have never seen or heard before. A female leader can do the same, and provide these ideas the same way. She could allow people to agree to learn new perspectives. If there are some citizens that do not believe that the wage gap is prominent, or that women should have equal rights as men, this quote from the suffrage and working women speech shows that it is plausible for a woman to change this for the better.
Public Perception and Gender Stereotypes
Some people state the United States should not have a female president, because they feel as though women are not qualified to lead the United States. The past forty-five presidents of the United States have been males, because whenever a United States presidential candidate, because whenever a female candidate runs for president, the majority of citizens vote against her because they feel as though she is unqualified simply because she is a woman. “Clinton received her lowest scores (though still more than 50%) in the areas of inspiring people, bringing them together, and handling the responsibilities as commander-in-chief of the military. While Clinton received strong evaluations on such 'masculine' issues of the economy and foreign policy, she received lower evaluations not only on the 'masculine' role of commander-in-chief but also on the 'feminine' traits of inspiration and unification. Public opinion about Clinton's favorability, support from voters, and qualifications to be president were mostly positive before, during, and after her 16-month campaign for the Democratic nomination for president. Clinton appears to have broken barriers in terms of gender stereotypes held by the public” (Bystrom, Dianne). This quote is talking about the statistics of the voting of the 2016 election with Hillary Clinton. This quote states that even though Clinton broke the stereotypes of women running for a professional position, her campaign was not very well received, because the public felt as though she was not qualified, and the United States was not ready for her to be president. They thought that she was not qualified because she was not reaching correctly to the issues in the United States that were seen as more ‘masculine’ issues such as issues with the military and foreign policy. This quote supports the counter claim that the United States should not have a female president because people believe that women are not qualified to be president, because it says that Hillary Clinton did not appeal to the ‘masculine’ issues in the United States. The reason for this was simply because she was a woman, thus why citizens believed a woman was unqualified to run the United States.
Conclusion: America’s Readiness for a Female President
Although some people argue that the United States should not have a female president, because women are not qualified enough for the position, the United States should already have a female president because it can prevent history from repeating itself Although the U.S has many great historical moments under the male administration that have lead it to be the nation it has become today, there are still periods of time in history, such as the great depression, that would a new perspective or way of thinking provided by a female president could provide. “Baker's role with the SCLC allowed her to assist in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1960, the sit-in movement erupted among black college students throughout the South. In 1960, Baker convinced the SCLC to sponsor a meeting of student activists at her alma mater, Shaw University. The NAACP, SCLC, and the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) all sent representatives to the meeting, which culminated with the creation of SNCC, with Baker as its primary advisor. By 1961, SNCC had become the organization that Baker had been trying to create for several years. Unlike the SCLC, SNCC allowed for the active participation of women and young people. Most important, SNCC's leadership, unlike either the SCLC or NAACP, was group-centered” (Weidman). This quote is speaking about a very influential female and African American activist during the civil rights movement. Baker made a group of young activists to fight for the rights of African Americans in the United States. She also created the SNCC, which was a group centered around the rights of African American citizens, and was completely led by young people, and women. This quote supports the claim that the United States should have a female president because during the civil rights movement, Ella Baker was preventing the history of slavery in the United States, and other forms of discrimination in the United States from repeating itself by leading this activist group in the civil rights movement. If the United States had a female president today, providing the nation with new ideas and perspectives, it could do just that. A new administrative perspective would help other forms of discrimination in history from preventing itself. That's why I am firmly convinced that now is the time for a woman to rule our country, and modern American society is really ready for this.
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