Raise the Hammer

To be honest (and I wasn't really intending on weighing in on the discussion) I think some of the error comes in a little sooner than we would like. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of old world and gender roles that exist, especially in Hamilton.

I can say that as a college student little goes toward making politics female relevant, which it entirely is. And part of the problem is, when males try to make room for women, they don't know how. I think this has to do with the fact that they still think/treat women the same as say....20 years ago. And we can all agree much has changed since then. And even now, if you see a powerful woman making headway in the business/politics world you'll undoubtedly get people saying that she's power hungry or she's "one of those women" like that actually means anything. Ugh.

There are great programs like elect more women and such. But I think it needs to start sooner. I've spoken to dozens of youth about civic engagement. Every single (I'm not lying) response took one general form. "That class was boring, we didn't talk about much..." When you watch the House Of Commons on TV it's obvious there are many females present, but for the most part I don't think young kids especially females are given the opportunity to see how fun, sexy, exciting and interesting politics can be. (I say sexy, but I mean appealing...not in a physical sense....)And if there were parts of that class that were to focus in on great women in politics...and not just presidents wives...younger females might begin to show an interest earlier.

Empowering teen/young adult females I think, is the key to engaging them before they hit that male centric stage where they have so much to come up against. It's almost a lost battle before they begin. It starts with expecting more out of women as well. (This applies to both men and women) But at college...everywhere I look there are women/girls acting in ways, talking, gossiping and sometimes being catty to one another. I do see women working hard, studying, interested in intellectual relationships with other people, including men. But the world around us doesn't offer much expectation. When you set a bar that low, or even encourage it, you can't help but follow.

For me, Mohawk serves as high school 2.0. A chance to live in that not yet grown up bubble where people can continue to make or live without much consequences. Instead, we should be expecting more, channeling proper behavior, encouraging intellectual stimulation when it comes to politics, and for goodness sake, grow up already. We can't possibly say we're in a good place, when according to the marketing world, we're not all growed up until we're 25 - 30.

In the end, I believe it comes down to expectations. If you expect little, you get little. You raise that bar, even high enough where failure is likely, not just possible, you'll be surprised at how much people will accomplish to achieve. Besides...like most things, women are likely better at it (politics) than men.

Our goal shouldn't be to get more women in politics so we have more women in politics. It should be to have more women in politics because we thirst for and crave their good ideas, strong thought process, sensible reasoning and, as a general rule..though there are exceptions, their honesty.

(I know this has been repetitive and cyclical and I apologize)

Comment edited by Jarod on 2010-10-01 08:18:36