Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 25, 1994 TAG: 9407250014
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LUCY H. LEE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Fortunately for you, feminism isn't something with which staff writer Alec (Rip Van Winkle) Klein seems familiar. He describes, ad nauseam, Susan Allen's feminine qualities: Her ``soft smile,'' ``modest dreams,'' ``wholesome image,'' the way she ``lowers her guard ever so slightly'' to speak of her feelings. How, on her recent visit to South Africa to promote Virginia tourism, she ``appears at ease in an exotic land,'' and ``glides down the halls of Parliament'' - being careful, we presume, not to trip over her hoop skirt. She is ``a striking Laura Ashley country belle.'' Ho-hum.
Of course, she's a ``fiercely devoted wife'' who is ``protective of her family's privacy.'' The grounds of the governor's mansion now boast a lemonade stand and swing set for her two children. This, as any fool knows, is unmistakable symbolism for [drum roll] ... family values.
But wait a minute. This Southern Belle Reincarnate and Most Superior Of All Mothers (who, incidentally, employs a nanny) ``no longer is following the traditional script.'' She ``crossed continents'' (!) to lead a high-profile state visit. But lest we think Ms. Allen has a brain or leadership potential, the ever-modest first lady reassures us: ``I just try very hard, hopefully, not to make too many blunders.'' Whew, now I feel better.
She obviously has the proper lack of self-esteem to qualify as The Perfect Woman. And this scene is one Klein knows. He reports that she doesn't like her voice, and that she once modeled wedding gowns. So he concludes, ``it may be only natural to note imperfections - and to strive to do things right under the public glare.''
He, thus, puts us women on all too familiar ground - noting our imperfections and trying always to do things ``right.''
We read that Ms. Allen wants to be taken seriously. But - and this is important - not as a ``take-charge Hillary Rodham Clinton.'' Well, heaven forbid. No one would accuse Ms. Allen of taking charge. She's too smart to let Virginians know that she's probably capable of doing just that. She's obviously picked up on the popular perception that America is going down the tubes because Hillary is ``up there'' being intelligent, confident, articulate and clever. Ms. Clinton's major problem is that she possesses that most unladylike quality - power.
With such stifling messages about what constitutes acceptance, much less success, for women, no one should be surprised at a July 12 article from The New York Times in this newspaper. The headline, ``Boys more old-fashioned in family ideal,'' highlights the results of a nationwide poll of teen-agers. In short, boys want to marry Susan Allens, not Hillary Clintons.
A majority of the boys said that most boys they knew considered themselves better than girls. Those silly, deluded girls reported that the girls they knew saw boys as equals. One teen-age girl even went so far as to say, ``I think girls are more liberated and guys are going to have to compromise. If they say they want their wives at home, I think it's because they want more power in the relationship.'' Ah, there's that ``p'' word again.
The family-values people know about power. They know that it's in their best interest to deny it to women, and to promote a '50s way of thinking. Evidently, some '90s teen-age girls know about power, too. They know it needs to be shared equally between husband and wife in order to have real family values.
Lucy H. Lee of Roanoke is former director of the Women's Center at Hollins College.
by CNB