Gov. Sarah Palin represents women

The struggle for equality has been long and hard for women. But in today’s society, we can look and see how far women have come.

Women are executives and politicians. They own businesses and are in the military, some as officers. Gov. Sarah Palin is a great example of this. She is currently a small-business owner, a governor and presidential candidate John McCain’s running mate.

Women have taken long strides toward equality. We were not given the right to vote until August 1920. Women’s wages were not comparable to that of men until the Equal Pay Act of 1963, when women’s wages improved. This act made it illegal for an employer to pay a woman less than a man when they are doing the same job.

In the 1960s and ‘70s, some women protested and burned their bras. They were protesting for equal rights by law and in people’s minds. Coming out of the 1950’s cookie-cutter wife phase, they wanted to be looked at as individuals, not solely as mothers and housewives.

Women have come a very long way since those days of bra burning. They have the capability to earn success just as a man does. Not only do they have the ability, but it is not unusual to do so. People have come to embrace the successes of women in the work force. For the most part, these women are highly respected members of society.

There will always be slight differences between women and men, but this is the nature of each gender. We are different, and this is something that must be embraced and cherished. Women can be tough and delicate at the same time. This is not due to a lack of respect from the rest of the world; it is just one of our differences from men.

I think that today’s feminists need to embrace this concept. Newspapers like the New York Post have described Gov. Sarah Palin as “a feminist dream,” and National Public Radio asked if she is the “new face of feminism.” These characterizations seem to make the bra-burning feminists angry.

What people seem to be having a hard time realizing is that you don’t have to be a bra-burning, angry, Birkenstock-wearing woman to be a feminist. Why would you want to be? People don’t like or pay attention to angry people, and, well, Birkenstocks without a doubt are one ugly pair of shoes. So what is the problem here?

Some people say Sarah Palin is a bad feminist. I don’t see it that way. She hunts and fishes, owns her own business, is the governor of Alaska, and still manages to look good at the end of the day. Sounds like a major accomplishment, not just for a woman, but for anyone. I am not sure if she is disliked as a feminist because she is an avid hunter or because she is pretty. Neither way makes sense.

She wears heels and lipstick, and even with this she stands up for the issues she believes in. Though she isn’t focusing on women’s issues, Gov. Palin stands strong as a woman, and that is what is most important. This woman pushes for personal responsibility, less government and governmental handouts, but this is not just her as a “bad feminist,” these are Republican ideas that have always been emphasized. She seems to be reinforcing these ideas and upsetting people.

So I say a woman who can stand tall in heels is just as strong as any man, and that is an accomplishment for any feminist.