Friday, July 23, 2004

Washington Wives

I just finished watching Washington Wives with Kim and I have to say that I'm feeling pretty warped perspective-wise at the moment. Washington Wives is a documentary that traces the different approaches of presidential spouses towards their husband's campaign. The bottomline is that every woman and every marriage is different so the idea that a politician's wife could somehow be streamlined into a Stepford version is ludicrous, but yet we (society at large) were fascinated by Howard Dean's wife Judy. She had a well-established medical practice and a teenage son at home, and decided that was more important than campaigning with Howard. And he didn't ask her to. It's a shocking concept I know, respecting her career and life. Hopefully Sally Quinn (Ben Bradlee's wife) is right: in 20 years the idea of respected her choice will be viewed as ridiculous by the American public as well.

It also brings up another point that I have felt ever since I graduated college. I am by no means experienced in the ways of the world (read: 2.5 months out of college) but I can tell you this: everything they told me about fairness and equality between men and women is untrue. It's just flat out untrue. I feel like a round peg being forced into a square hole that society has carved out. I spent all these years being indoctrinated that I had choices, the same choices as men, only to find out that I have to now be indoctrinated with the truth. I am feeling a little betrayed by my liberal upbringing to tell you the truth. I just miss the equality that I felt in college. Everyone had the same papers to write, books to read, exams to study for, and the choice was how much effort you put into those tasks. There are more women in college right now than men. It might actually be the great equalizer that we have been working towards. Because right now I don't feel like I have a lot of choices, or a lot of equality.