Much, Dear Gentle Reader(s), has been made about sexism regarding the treatment of Governor Palin by the mainstream media as well as by the blogosphere. If one thinks about it, Republican pundits and whiners might have a point when they assert that no one would think of asking Senator Biden if he has the time to be Vice President, given his extended family. Shouldn't his family come first, before his political ambitions? After all, if we have developed a society free of gender bias, shouldn't the same questions about raising family apply to candidates of either sex?
Theoretically, yes.
Could it be though that what is happening is that the society has not yet caught up with certain configurations of the nuclear family which are particularly late 20th and early 21st century phenomena?
Governor Palin and her husband, Todd, seem to have built the sort of family where the responsibilities have been well divided according to the aspirations of each of the partners. She wants to be political; he wants to run snow races. She wins elections; he wins races. The children seem to be thriving. What's the problem?
The problem could well be that the primary bread winner has been the governor, and the general society has not yet caught on to the fact that the female, the child bearer, can well be the primary bread winner and have a successful nuclear family. If the husband has evolved beyond the stereotype of the male-as-final-arbiter and bread winner, isn't that all to the good of society? To each his own strengths. Finding a complementary partner to one's strengths is the great challenge of the 21st century. The Palins seem to have accomplished this.
It's a giant step forward in the development of a gender-blind society. We will all benefit from it. As soon as we understand the accomplishment of the Palin family, the scales will fall from our eyes, and the family/sexist questions will never again be asked.
Congratulations to the Palins.
Now, if they could only rid themselves of the burdens of an evangelical religious background (it's easy, just ask any recovering Catholic--free advice given here), and the buy-in of the Republican Party's winning strategies of the culture wars in which we've been involved since the Southern Strategy, and the insane blinkered NRA interpretation of the 2nd amendment, we'd have a cracker jack couple whom we could emulate.
Trust, but verify.
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