CHANGING GENDERED EXPECTATIONS

Suzanne Dovi

WHEN ASKED, “How does it feel to be appointed because you are a woman?” Barbara Babcock, the first female assistant attorney general for the Civil Division in the U.S. Department of Justice, responded, “It’s better than not being appointed because I’m a woman.” Babcock’s answer indicates how women in politics are inevitably evaluated in light of their gender. In other words, women will win and lose as women.

Babcock’s comment also suggests that there is no such thing as a gender-free or “neutral” political playing field for women. Achieving parity will never be as simple as removing existing barriers, external and internal, to women’s political participation. Political equity requires affirmative institutional innovation that aims to bring more women into politics, as Jennifer Piscopo wisely argues. But while getting more American women into politics is necessary, it is not sufficient for participatory parity. Political institutions are only as good as the norms and values of citizens and their representatives. Without transforming those of the existing system—specifically how we identify and evaluate masculine and feminine political behavior—electing more women is unlikely to make the U.S. political system more accountable to women. To put the point bluntly, masculine political identities are wrapped up in being superior to others, as opposed to being responsive to the needs of Americans (both male and female).