The middle-aged lesbian take on the election so-far.
When McCain announced that Palin was the choice, my jaw dropped and I said "Wow." My coworker said "What, the hotness factor?" Then I was speechless. The what? We say these things at work? Oh, I forget I was out at work.
That's right, it's 2008, not 1992, and I'm out at work. And two Obama supporters, a straight guy, and a lesbian, can laugh about the idiocy of a lesbian supporting Sarah Palin because she's hot. But the fact that we can joke about this at work speaks volumes about how far we have come since Pat Buchanan decried the "cultural war" in 1992.
When Buchanan spoke at the Republican convention in 1992 and condemned homosexuals there was a backfire effect at the grassroots. The speech sparked conversations in offices and bars throughout the country, and ordinary people "came out" as allies by stating that they had friends and family members who were gay (and that they were OK people).
Why even mention this? Because with all the water-cooler discussion about the Palin nomination, there is once again a grassroots opportunity here. Just look at all of the feminist issues that have come to the surface here in the Daily Kos diaries since the announcement. And by feminist issues, I mean the tough ones that we ourselves still debate and have not resolved.
--How do you balance family and career in general? --How many children should you bring into the world? --If you have a special needs child can you continue in your career or will people disparage you (even other feminists)? --Can you be pro-life and still be a feminist on other issues?
And then there issues I have yet to see posted:
--Why doesn't this country have decent maternity leave as a choice for men and women like they do in Europe (6-12 months depending on the country)? --Why are many men still intimidated by successful women? (Unless they're hot!!) --Why do women have to choose between career and family and men don't? --Do we have adequate support services for special needs families (for regular families, not for Palin herself)?
I promised this was the middle-aged lesbian take on the election, didn't I...? Well, this middle-aged lesbian knows that we got to this historic election because of grassroots cultural and political work done by the people who came before us. I believe it may be our turn.
