In response to Robin's post
I think the question to ponder here is, are women in positions of power expected to behave differently than men historically have? It is perhaps a misconstrued notion that women are supposed to be nurturers and caregivers, operate with kindness and consideration and thwart off corruption and abuse of power.
Historically women, who have held positions of great power, have not been so nice. Contemporary leaders such as Thatcher, Imelda Marcos and Indira Gandhi have shown to be just as cold as their male counterparts. I won't even delve into historical female leaders, but they don't fear well either. Why these women behave the way they do is up for speculation. Maybe they have something to prove in a male dominated world. Maybe it is just human nature, male or female, to fall under the spell of absolute power.
Nevertheless, I think it is wrong to expect women to behave differently than men do, because of their perceived and perhaps imposed, "nurture" expectations. I personally resent when people expect me to behave "womanly". Caring and nurturing does not come to me naturally, and I resent those who assume it does. We don't teach our daughters to covet power, to appreciate it, and to desire it. Our boys know how to do that. They are taught through sports, in school, in political offices, and even through and in, interpersonal relationships.
I can guarantee you things would be a lot different if we taught boys to be kind, giving, gentle and nurturing while teaching girls to be aggressive, challenging and just plain hungry. Maybe the playing fields would even out a bit.
Historically women, who have held positions of great power, have not been so nice. Contemporary leaders such as Thatcher, Imelda Marcos and Indira Gandhi have shown to be just as cold as their male counterparts. I won't even delve into historical female leaders, but they don't fear well either. Why these women behave the way they do is up for speculation. Maybe they have something to prove in a male dominated world. Maybe it is just human nature, male or female, to fall under the spell of absolute power.
Nevertheless, I think it is wrong to expect women to behave differently than men do, because of their perceived and perhaps imposed, "nurture" expectations. I personally resent when people expect me to behave "womanly". Caring and nurturing does not come to me naturally, and I resent those who assume it does. We don't teach our daughters to covet power, to appreciate it, and to desire it. Our boys know how to do that. They are taught through sports, in school, in political offices, and even through and in, interpersonal relationships.
I can guarantee you things would be a lot different if we taught boys to be kind, giving, gentle and nurturing while teaching girls to be aggressive, challenging and just plain hungry. Maybe the playing fields would even out a bit.