When I was growing up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the 1970’s I recall having a book called Girls Can Be Anything. I don’t remember much about it but the illustrations. A boy said to a girl that she could only be a flight attendant (he probably said stewardess) and he’d be the captain. And so on.
The politically charged New York City of the 1970’s gave way to the 1980’s. I proudly sported equal rights for women t-shirts. My t-shirts said things like, “a woman’s place is in the House – and the Senate.”
I grew up to be the mother of sons and also a daughter. Tonight I watched Hillary Rodham Clinton accept the nomination for President of the United States.
In so doing, she became the first woman at the top of a major ticket in United States history.
This is good for all of our daughters. It is good for all of our sons.
Setting politics aside, it is hard not to be stirred when witness to history.
No matter what you think about Secretary Clinton and politics generally, this is not a moment to be blasé. Too many women gave too much to bring us to this night.
So let’s set politics aside. And let’s pause to reflect.
Tonight my daughter slept on the couch as Secretary Clinton accepted the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. The convention hall erupted as history was made. Did I bawl? I did. I’m not ashamed to admit it.
Last winter I read a book about United States history to my daughter Isabelle. It was very President-heavy. (This seems too earnest but it was because of the Hamilton craze which has inspired a love of history in young children).
Isabelle’s attention wandered. “There are no girls in this book,” she complained.
She couldn’t relate.
Isabelle, at six years old, knows nothing of politics. But she does have a kid’s sense of justice. These things border one another.
As is the case with all children, Isabelle furiously considers things like who is “the boss of her,” and often takes issue with what is fair. She is obsessed with Matilda the Musical and the idea that all girls (all children, really) write their own stories, steer their own lives.
My sons benefit equally from seeing this history made. Children only believe what they see – what is real to them. Abstract concepts don’t translate. The idea that a woman could be a serious candidate for the highest office in the land is manifestly different than the reality that one is.
It is important that our sons and daughters walk together up the steep climb – to what someday can even off to a truly level playing field. We are all the better for it.
What are your thoughts on the nomination of Secretary Clinton?
Leave a commentPhotographs courtesy of RMV/REX/AP/Shutterstock J. Scott, Andrew Harnik & David Hartley
