The Myth of the Iron Lady

Source: wpost



The Myth of the Iron Lady

By Shankar Vedantam
Monday, November 12, 2007; A03



If you consult the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, which is democratically created by Internet users, you will see a pattern emerge in the phrases used to describe the first female leaders of many countries.

England's Margaret Thatcher, you will learn, was called "Attila the Hen." Golda Meir, Israel's first female prime minister, was "the only man in the Cabinet." Richard Nixon called Indira Gandhi, India's first female prime minister, "the old witch." And Angela Merkel, the current chancellor of Germany, has been dubbed "The Iron Frau."

The conventional explanation for why female leaders are widely perceived as mannish, conniving and ruthless -- not just by men but by other women, too -- is that politics is tough, and the only way for a woman to survive in a male-dominated field is to have sharp elbows.

In recent years, however, a host of cleverly designed psychological experiments have shown that a subtler dynamic is at play -- a motif now on display in the United States as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) tries to become the United States' first female president.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/11/AR2007111101204_pf.html

And not accurate.

Sorry, sorry...it's too late.

:silly: