Even playing fields happen when barriers are overcome without complaining about them. The biggest beneficiaries of civil rights legislation are white women. Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and many others on both sides are examples of that.

I don’t believe that joking about being a b**** and then complaining about it works any better than hearing similar epithets tossed at themselves by blacks and Latinos.

Self-respect doesn’t come from being rewarded by complaining. And self-respect brings outside respect.

Make no mistake, I do not like Hillary Clinton’s tactics and I especially don’t care for her choice of advisors. But I had respect for her when she stood and took a ton of criticism for not dumping her husband when he humiliated her and not complaining about it, even in her books.

I lost respect when she started whining about press coverage and the like, because the fact is that while her whining got her what she wanted, it made her appear manipulative and weak.

I have been beaten by men and I have overcome it. And I mean to use the term ‘beaten’ in the literal sense. That doesn’t entitle me to special consideration. I don’t believe that it should entitle anyone to special consideration, which is why I’m about to criticize Samantha Power on my blog for her use of the word “monster” with regard to Hillary Clinton, also uncalled for.

If a woman is the same she’s a shrill bitch. No smile.

To answer a previous commenter, yes I do want an even playing field. I wonder when that will happen?

What I can’t manage, get around is that people have taken this concept of “equality” into their own minds and hearts so deeply that they think it is applicable to all, including them, as if it is a get out of jail free card we all get when we turn 18.

In other words, an outright misogynist I can deal with. That is clear prejudice, something concrete to debate, openly and honestly.

It is much, much harder to address the insidious under the covers prejudice against women coming from people who are sure they are assessing women accurately and fairly, not with any bias.

And that case is the one I think we have to deal with more than any, these days.

Especially in the news.

Great post.

I am not going to put an instant blessing on Hillary Clinton’s behavior because she’s a woman. She has behaved badly sometimes, and sets a bad example. The whining at the debate about the first question is an example. My daughter’s response to that was “What is she complaining about? Why is she complaining? Do Presidents complain?”

My answer to her was this: If you’re going to expect an even playing field, behave like it. Suck it up and don’t complain.

Which, by the way, is the same answer I give my daughter when she faces tough competition at the top of her level in dance competitions. Suck it up, do your best, know your stuff and don’t complain about the floor or the judging or the music. Just do it.

I don’t see any of that dialogue as being damaging to my daughter. I think it’s part of teaching her to navigate a world where women can function as the equals of men without any extra consideration.