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| All Hail the Chief ...
All Hail the Chief Even Her Hubby
by
Lisa Earle McLeod
SUMMARY:
Why is it that when a woman comes into power it diminishes the men around her, but a mans power enhances the woman in his life? On ABCs new show Commander in Chief, one of the . . . |
Why is it that when a woman comes into power it diminishes the men around her, but a man's power enhances the woman in his life?
On ABC's new show "Commander in Chief," one of the recurring subplots is about the perils of being America's first First Gentleman and how people react to a man who sleeps with the president of the United States.
For those of you unfamiliar with the show, it's a political drama about the first female president. Played by a steely Geena Davis, President McKenzie Allen is a political independent who ascends to the Oval Office after the sitting president - a conservative who chose a woman as his running mate to get female votes - dies in office from a sudden aneurysm.
In addition to being the leader of the free world, Davis's character is also a wife and mother of three. And if becoming the most scrutinized working mom in America weren't challenge enough, President Allen also has to deal with the fact that her husband is navigating unchartered territory as well.
In one particularly revealing scene, First Gentleman Rod Calloway (yes, he kept his own name after marriage) is lambasted by his teenage son for becoming "a national joke." Despite being a former state attorney, a military officer and his wife's chief of staff when she was vice president, Calloway discovers he's become fodder for late-night comedians. Being married to the president has downed his manly quotient faster than if he'd donned a frilly apron and pranced around the White House in red Jimmy Choos.
I know it's just a TV show, but the scenario of a man being perceived as less masculine just because his wife is super-successful rings pretty true to life.
If a woman goes to her class reunion and tells her old French club buddies that she's married to a CEO, they're immediately impressed. But if a man tells his former football team that his wife is a neurosurgeon, unless he's one too, a lot of people are going to wonder who "wears the pants."
This bizarre Catch-22 leaves both sexes in a bit of a bind. Women have to worry about not appearing more successful than their men, and instead of being proud of their wives' accomplishments, many men feel emasculated by them.
We might believe things have changed, and in many ways they have. But picture this scenario: You're introduced to a cute couple at a cocktail party. He's a brain surgeon and she's a second-grade teacher. What's going through your mind?
Now reverse it and imagine she's the surgeon and he spends his days with 7-year-olds. Does the man still seem as manly and the woman as feminine? If your answer is yes, you're either immune to cultural programming or you've been living under a rock.
For the rest of us, and an element of historical male/female dynamics is at play. You know - big strong man clubs wooly mammoth, grateful weaker woman swoons, and they head back to the cave, make babies and die at age 35.
It's hardly a model I'd like to follow, yet many people think today's powerful women threaten the fragile male ego. But perhaps it's not their egos so much as their place in the world that's at stake. Until recently the most obvious way for a woman to get ahead was to act like a man. However, "Commander in Chief" is part of a growing cultural shift that demonstrates how women can be strong and feminine at the same time.
In her children's book "Madam President: The Extraordinary, True (and Evolving) Story of Women in Politics," author Catherine Thimmesh provides a presidential blueprint for girls by revealing how women have long played a role in White House politics. She writes of historical heroes like Abigail Adams and Edith Bolling Wilson, who secretly assumed the presidential duties when her husband, Woodrow, suffered a paralyzing stroke, to modern-day official advisors like Madeline Albright and Condoleezza Rice.
Thimmesh makes the case that women have actually been circling the Oval Office for years - and it's only a matter of time before one of them zooms in to take the top job.
Many speculate "Commander in Chief" is paving the way for a certain blond New Yorker to move back into her old house. After watching the show with my two daughters, I'm not sure about that. But I do suspect it's getting us all more comfortable with the idea of power in pumps.
I know in my heart that one day our nation is going watch as a pair of wingtips strides confidently up to the presidential podium to hold the Bible while his wife takes the oath.
The first First Gentleman will have big shoes to fill, but I feel fully confident my future son-in-law will be up for the job.
Article Source: http://www.elrincondelantropologo.com/
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| About the Author |
Lisa Earle McLeod - Inspirational Humorist
Lisa Earle McLeod is a syndicated columnist, a nationally recognized speaker and the author of Forget Perfect: Finding Joy, Meaning, and Satisfaction in the Life Youve Already Got and the YOU You Already Are. (Penguin/Putnam) She has been featured in Real Simple, Essence, and The New York Times and seen on Good Morning America, Lifetime and FOX.
Lisa has been called "Erma Bombeck with an edge." Her unique combination of wicked cultural commentary, insightful advice and laugh-till- you-wet-your pants humor delights audiences and readers.
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