When is it OK for a man to cry? What about women? What about women in politics?There may, in fact be another double standard as a variable on why we have yet to have a woman president.
Tom Lutz, a professor at the University of California, Riverside who authored an exhaustive history of crying says a tearful response that would be seen as sensitivity in a man could be seen as a lack of control in his wife.
"Bill could cry, (and did during his presidency), but Hillary can't," says Lutz.The AP uses the Clinton's -- and Ellen's Iggy sob story of to compare the differences between men and women. The story is linked here: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jSYTw8axol0GWlZ1J55ZJvjL4diQ
So what do you think? If your President, Mrs. Clinton cried, what would you think? Would she show sensitivity? Would it show irrationality?
Or would it just make you cry?
12 comments:
I wouldn't especially care if Hillary Clinton cried during her (Chuck Norris forbid!)presidency. The presidency is a stressful job, even if you are only there for four years. Just compare a photograph of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 with one of him in 1865. Besides the beard, you can see how much the office aged him. It's unsettling to see the most powerful person in the world cry, but I really don't care if they do, as long as they have a good reason to do so. There is only so much a person can take, even a politician.
seriously...hillary has to do something to break the stereotype that she is a cold, manipulative, unfeeling political operative amongst common (non democratic base) voters. If crying does it then so be it.
First of all, nice use of a Jersey Boys' song for the title, Mr. Wolak. Now, here is what I have to say about women and crying and how that relates to the presidency. Overall, crying is therapeutic and it is a great way to deal with stress. The presidency is probably one of the most stressful, if not the most stressful, jobs ever. Under these circumstances, it would be completely understandable if Hillary cried. I also, I agree with Alex in that if Hillary were able to show more of her emotions, then the people would be able to see a more caring and compassion side of her.
Meh, I suppose it would show emotion if either of them cried, but if it was Bill it may be called unmanly or if it was Hillary it may be called overreacting. Its just double standards. I probably couldn't care less if they cried, but the interpretation would also have a lot to do with the circumstances.
O well, maybe the Clinton's should blog about themselves and crying, wouldn't that be helpful.
The situation is important, though. If Hillary Clinton were to cry because - oh, let's say she was slandered by the media or something and was speaking in her own defense, but the criticisms kept coming and she finally just broke down. That's an understandably stressful situation that none of us would want to be in, but people would say afterwards that Hillary wasn't tough enough to handle the presidency; that she needed to be more thick-skinned and collected; there might even be speculation about her using tears to get pity and create a diversion. On the other hand, if she were to shed a couple tears for the fallen in Iraq, for example, it would be seen as sensitivity and compassion on her part.
But overall, women have given themselves a bad name with their crying. It's now seen as a way to manipulate people - especially men - and as a sign of weakness, whereas for a man to tear up represents a rare moment of vulnerability and a true sign of sensitivity. I think a lot of it has to do with modern society's rejection of the dependent, delicate female image and its promotion of the strong but caring male image.
The article angers me a little. How the society views an angry man as authoritative and powerful and an angry woman as nosey and intrusive, and how the society views a crying man as emotional and caring and a crying woman as deceitful and superficial, is ridiculous. I have to admit that girls often do cry more easily than guys, however, generalization shouldn't be made on the basis of gender.
Sly man would shed deceitful tears.
Sly woman would shed deceitful tears. Emotional man would shed genuine tears. Emotional woman would shed genuine tears. I think it's the situation and circumstance that matters more.
Personally, I would feel the same sympathy for both Bill and Hillary Clinton if they were to cry in public, because I understand (although never experienced) the stressful situation and circumstance that presidency could bring. Both men and women, especially those that are public figures, should be able to contain their emotion, however, when tears just burst out genuinely due to passion or grief for some subject, then it is cruel for the public to ridicule and criticize the figure.
Reminds me of something I read during English IV last year: that in public meetings men and women speak about the same number of words, yet women were stereotyped as more talkative than men (or something like that)...
Hi Mr. Wolak! Sorry about the two blank posts: I had trouble getting my blogger.com and google account set up.
There are people who still believe that a women would not make a good president because they are more emotional than men and therefore make irrational decisions. Hillary is out to get votes, so as long as that belief persists, you will not see Hillary cry in public. She's no dummy. Crying in public would do harm than good when it comes to picking up blocks of voters.
By the way, Yunus and Alice are right. The double standards and stereotypes are out there, and there is not much you can do about that - except work to change them over time.
the press is going to have a field day if hillary clinton ends up being the democratic candidate. she's flipflopped on several issues, most recently the drivers licenses for illegal immigrants and defining the iranian guard as a terrorist organization (which could lead to a war w/ iran).
unrelated to politics, her laugh makes her sound evil. i agree w/ alex though. if she cries over a legitimate topic, people might think that she actually has emotions.
If any president cries publicly, then you can bet that it's a planned political move. So if Hillary Clinton's elected, the only time I think we'd see her cry is if some poll told her that she needs to appear softer and that crying wouldn't make her seem hysterical (in the very literal definition of the word lol).
That said, I personally don't care if I see my president cry. And that doesn't change whether they're a man or a woman. All people cry...so thank god that they're human. Or maybe just a human using a political ploy.
ugh...it's so annoying what stereotypes and prejudices there are like this.
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