Sexism Then and Now

When Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman selected for a V.P. slot on a major party ticket, I was in college. I actually got to see Ferraro speak at my college and it is still one of those experiences you remember even decades (yikes!) later.

Not that listening to Ferraro made me want to vote for Walter Mondale. Quite the opposite, in fact. But I was still thrilled to see history in the making.

My memory about that election cycle is fuzzy, but I don't remember there being so much overt sexism then as there is now. There is Barbara Bush calling Ferraro something that rhymes with "rich." And there were the usual questions about her experience and if she was up to the job of waiting for the president to die. And there were questions about her husband's tax returns. But I don't know how much else was said publicly about why being a woman was a problem.

Since I began blogging, I've written posts excoriating the sexism directed at both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. There's just no excuse for describing Pelosi as having "queen bee" syndrome or shouting "Iron my shirt!" at Hillary Clinton. Admittedly, those comments are immature and stupid, but it leads to the meltdown we are witnessing from the Left over the pick of Sarah Palin for Republican vice presidential nominee.

There's all the discussion focused on Palin as beauty queen. There's the it's not her baby meme. Troopergate seems to have lost its momentum, only to be replaced with concerns about Palin's earring choice (I kid you not).

Women in general should be angry with this sort of B.S. approach to smearing Sarah Palin. Argue that her experience matters when Obama's does not if you want. That just shows hypocrisy. But spending time ruminating over her earring choice makes you wonder how far we have come.