Thanks.
Women Under Glass
Within minutes of Senator John McCain introducing Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, as his vice-presidential running mate, the talking heads on radio & TV were consumed with one question: Will Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s choice for veep, be able to debate her with his trademark brusque, adversarial manner? The answer was, universally, no. Why? She’s a woman.
Nothing is more condescending to women than kid-glove treatment, yet most men reflexively provide it and few women protest it. Such hypocritical deference, in a country where women “claim” to want equality and men “claim” to honor it, is tantamount to keeping them under glass — like Barbie Dolls arrayed on a toystore shelf.
Ironically, women who desire to be coddled and placed in a protected class — where they receive free wining & dining from men; are allowed, with impunity, to falsely accuse men of rape and domestic violence; get automatic child custody; benefit exclusively from Roe v. Wade; and are encouraged, with EEOC endorsement, to wear cocktail wardrobe at work — actually wish to be encased in glass.
The result is the so-called “glass ceiling,” an imaginary boundary that many women believe men built to prevent them from advancing into executive positions. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy: boundaries exist only if one believes they exist. Ask Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer who this year won eight gold medals by believing anything’s possible. Beginning any journey with the belief in failure will, in itself, cause failure. And, blaming others for failure, as the glass-ceiling adherents do, is also failure.
If you’ve ever watched me debate women on Fox News, you know I refuse to participate in this anachronistic but still-popular custom of deference. Instead, I treat them as equals, focusing on their words — not their genitalia. Secure, fair-minded women appreciate obeisance-free discourse, and the men with the balls to engage them in it.
Vintage Victimspeak
Everything I’ve read about Sarah Palin indicates that she’s one tough cookie who will easily withstand and counter the in-your-face salvos of VAWA Joe. If that’s not the case, she’s unfit for the VP job. Trust me: Putin, Achmadinijad, Asaad, and Chavez won’t put Governor Palin under glass.
When Hillary Clinton conceded to Barack Obama on June 7, 2008, she bragged about having received 18 million primary votes, a US record. Quite an accomplishment, right? Not after she diluted it by equating each vote to a crack in “the glass ceiling.” Clinton didn’t come clean to admit that her campaign was rife with problems. No, instead, she bloviated with vintage victimspeak: Ladies, men are the reason we women fail.
As I listened to Sarah Palin accepting John McCain’s invitation to join him on the ticket that historic Friday in Dayton, she instantly impressed me with her intelligence, style, gravitas, strength, vision, independence, and energy … until she transparently pandered to Hillary’s voters:
“It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America. But it turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.”
What glass ceiling? If it exists, how did Palin, with virtually no experience, ascend from mayor of her small town to governor of Alaska — a very macho state? She did it with brains, guts, hard work, sharp elbows, and no victimhood whining. Despite being antithetical to her own experience, she felt that the “glass ceiling” would resonate with Hillary’s acolytes. Frankly, I think she blunted her otherwise powerful message.
The Wage-Gap Crap
Another form of the farcical glass ceiling is the oft-mentioned wage gap between the genders. It’s crap. At the DNC in Denver, Barack Obama said: “And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day’s work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.” Senator Obama, your daughters have more opportunities than our sons. Stop your nonsense.
In American universities today, 42% more women than men graduate. Women in their 20s outearn their male peers in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Dallas. Women on corporate boards of directors outearn their male peers.
If men in similar jobs aren’t paid equally — and they’re not — how is it possible to mandate equal pay between genders? It isn’t. Everyone is paid what he or she is worth, and that compensation is determined by job skills, job requirements, personality, geography, industry, company size, and negotiating skills. When a company offers a woman a salary, and she accepts it — without negotiating a better deal — she is agreeing to the amount. She can’t later complain that some man outearns her.
People often cite, and blindly accept, a mysterious “statistic” indicating that women earn 70 cents for every dollar a man earns. Surprisingly, few ask how that figure was derived. It’s meaningless. Moreover, it does not factor in child support and alimony, which women receive in at least 90% of cases. And, let’s not forget the imputed income to women when men pay for their entertainment and travel. All told, according to Allianz, the financial-services behemoth, women control 60% of American wealth.
Take a man earning $2M per year and another living under a bridge, earning nothing. Lump them together: each has an average annual salary of $1M. Makes sense on a calculator but not in reality. Men and women, in general, have different jobs. In addition, more women than men are in low-paying, part-time jobs. Yes, there are men and women with equal jobs in the executive ranks. But, rarely do you find women welding steel atop bridges or men changing diapers in daycare centers. So, if you take a group of women, ranging from CEO to secretary, and a group of men, ranging from CEO to Navy SEAL, the arithmetic averages of their wages will not be equal. But, because most men feel guilty for being alive, let alone walking upright, they easily succumb to this glass-ceiling wage-gap crap.
Biden’s VAWA Trap
In an amazing twist of fate, Joe Biden may fall into his own misandrist trap. Biden created the unconstitutional Violence Against Women Act in 1994 to vilify men and encase women in glass. Ironically, if he attacks Sarah Palin in the presidential debates, she would, according to VAWA, be justified in calling 911 to have him arrested.
That’s right: by making Governor Palin fearful with his hostile tone, Joe Biden will be breaking his own hateful law — thereby cutting himself on a shard from one of the cracks in the proverbial glass ceiling. What sweet justice. So, it remains to be seen whether Biden will assail Palin or keep her under glass. I guess we’ll have to wait a few weeks, won’t we!
The NoNonsense Bottom Line
In the short term, victimhood sells the feminist cause, but in the long term, it fells the feminist cause. Men never will respect women who want special treatment. The “glass ceiling” and victimhood are synonymous. Never confuse deference with respect: they are mutually exclusive.
If women want to shatter that so-called glass ceiling, all they need do is drop their desire to be kept under glass. Then, they will discover, magically, that there is no glass ceiling — only the myth of a glass ceiling, which is both a farce and a crutch.
Women have two choices: Either stay home to bake cookies as unequals, with reduced rights and deferential treatment, or compete and coexist with men as equals, with equal rights and equal treatment. Trying to have it all by cherry-picking the best features of each is a blatant attempt to be kept under glass — engendering disrespect and resentment among men.
Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, and Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard — all in the John McCain circle — made it to the top. How was this possible? Because they didn’t let boundaries, glass or other, stop them. Do they have bruises? Of course: that’s life in the fast lane.
The glass ceiling is a farce, as are the 18 million cracks in it. In fact, the only ceiling on your success is the one you put there.
About the Author
Marc H. Rudov is a globally known radio/TV personality and author of 90+ articles and the books Under the Clitoral Hood: How to Crank Her Engine Without Cash, Booze, or Jumper Cables (ISBN 9780974501727), and The Man’s No-Nonsense Guide to Women: How to Succeed in Romance on Planet Earth (ISBN 0974501719). Mr. Rudov, the 2008 recipient of the National Coalition of Free Men’s “Award for Excellence In Promoting Gender Fairness In The Media,” is a regular guest on Fox News Channel’s Your World with Neil Cavuto and The O’Reilly Factor.
Rudov’s books, articles, blog, and podcasts are available at TheNoNonsenseMan.com.
Copyright © 2008 by Marc H. Rudov. All rights reserved.
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Luek said,
September 1, 2008 at 4:00 am
Squiggy said,
It’s a shame that there aren’t more American women like her.
September 1, 2008 at 4:13 am
Thomas said,
September 1, 2008 at 4:20 am
Marc H. Rudov said,
Glass ceiling = victimhood. Palin was appealing to Hillary’s voters through victimhood.
From my article above:
In the short term, victimhood sells the feminist cause, but in the long term, it fells the feminist cause. Men never will respect women who want special treatment. The “glass ceiling” and victimhood are synonymous. Never confuse deference with respect: they are mutually exclusive.
September 1, 2008 at 4:37 am
Dabir Dalton said,
_____________________________
I couldn’t agree more…My own mother told me many years ago that my father (whom she divorced while he was working two jobs and going to school full time to become a chiropractor) should have paid her enough child support so she could have stayed home with us boys instead of having to work and earn a living…
Before my last stepfather (who had a breathing disorder) died back in 2007…My mother was able to get a disability tag for her car because of her husbands disability…He rarely went anywhere with her yet she felt entitled to use the handicapped parking spaces even though she isn’t disabled…On the day of my stepfathers funeral as usual my mothers car was parked right there in the handicapped space of the church parking lot where my stepfathers funeral was held…
Now that her 90 year old aunt who uses a wheelchair and her son (who owns his own car) lives with her…My mother has managed to hang on to her handicapped tag and still uses the handicapped parking spaces even though I know of no single instance when her Aunt has rode in her car…
Needless to say I lost all respect for my mother and for women in general years ago because of their demands for special treatment even though I still try to obey the commandment to honor one’s parents…As for women in general I treat em all the same way that I treat a rattlesnake by being polite while staying as far from them as much as possible in order to avoid being bitten…
September 1, 2008 at 5:26 am
Zorik said,
For example, he said: “Everything I’ve read about Sarah Palin indicates that she’s one tough cookie …. Achmadinijad, Asaad, and Chavez won’t put Governor Palin under glass.”
I hesitate to concur, since those are some pretty ruthless characters. But even if true, that would perhaps make her into a masculinzed woman which is no better in my view than an effeminate man. Why do we ridicule men who are effeminite and praise some women for being masculine? Even if they can compete in business, is that the kind of woman men really want to live with?
Marc also wrote: “Women have two choices: Either stay home to bake cookies as unequals, … or compete and coexist with men as equals…”
I hesitate to concur with this as well. There is such a thing as equality even if two people play different roles. Why are American men going overseas to find traditional feminine women? A lot of guys want the traditional homemaker to look after their kids. They do a lot more than bake cookies; they educate and nurture our children. Looking down on the traditional homemaker is what the feminists do.
If women compete with men, they should get no special treatment, and neither should they get special treatment in the divorce courts. But women should not be considered less worthy or capable for being homemakers.
September 1, 2008 at 10:25 am
Marc H. Rudov said,
You obviously believe that a tough woman is a masculine woman. That’s your hangup. I see Palin as tough AND feminine. By the way, I know PLENTY of men who are weak but not effeminate. The reason men get nowhere with rights is that they’re basically weak and scared of women. All gynocrats like Biden and Obama are scared of women. Are they effeminate?
Such hangups about strong women are the cause of men losing their rights.
A woman who stays at home gets loads of deferential treatment, especially by the courts.
You can get any kind of woman you want in America — if you know how and where to look.
I see that you fear women who can compete with you in business. Again, your hangup. I like women who can compete in business; they’re smart and sexy.
The US Constitution doesn’t care about occupation: it says everyone is equal. But, when it comes to women, the bureaucrats make special rules.
September 1, 2008 at 10:42 am
Zorik said,
If so, she might be an exception rather than the rule. The few women I’ve known who are tough are not ones that I consider feminine. Call it a hangup if you want — I call it an observation.
Marc said, “I know PLENTY of men who are weak but not effeminate.”
I would have to agree with that, but it doesn’t change my mind about women who are tough.
There is also a difference between strong/weak and tough/not-tough. Tough is not always strong and strong is not always tough. Toughness can be a cover-up for weakness. For example, tough talk is often a cover-up for a weak argument.
Marc said, “I see that you fear women who can compete with you in business. Again, your hangup. I like women who can compete in business; they’re smart and sexy.”
Marc, I could say that you fear home makers and that you have a hangup about that.
Some home makers are smart and sexy too.
Not all business women are smart. Anyone with average intelligence can succeed in business. Not all business women are sexy. You can be fat and ugly and succeed in business.
So I don’t see business women as smarter or sexier than other women.
September 1, 2008 at 11:30 am
Zorik said,
True, but changing the law/courts seem to me to be a better solution than discouraging women from being homemakers. Besides, women get preferrential treatment elsewhere also.
September 1, 2008 at 11:38 am
Marc H. Rudov said,
Please stop using this comment section to badly misinterpret my words, attribute thoughts to me that aren’t mine, and create your own commentary.
If you want to become an author, be my guest — somewhere else. I will delete any further comments that don’t specifically address the subject of my article: cracks in the glass ceiling.
September 1, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Joi said,
September 1, 2008 at 3:06 pm
amfortas said,
I am encouraged by the general response of the MRM to look carefully at Palin to see what she is made of. You give us plenty of positives to consider and do not shrink from criticism where it is due. Yes, I agree that Palin should not have appealed to that stupid glass ceiling thing.
But, Sir, you have a briiliant way of picking up the ball and taking it all the way to the touchdown.
September 1, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Zorik said,
Because we are both MRAs, I forgive you wholeheartedly for your post (#10).
Anyway, I have a question even more directly related to the glass ceiling.
You said: “What glass ceiling? If it exists, how did Palin, with virtually no experience, ascend from mayor of her small town to governor of Alaska — a very macho state? She did it with brains, guts, hard work, sharp elbows, and no victimhood whining.”
Marc, you may well be right. You often are. But how do you know Palin succeeded on those attributes rather than her looks and perhaps preferrential treatment afforded her because she is a woman? Maybe those macho guys in Alaska go for sexy looking women, and maybe the women voted for her largely because she is a woman.
Maybe we should call it the “glass springboard” rather than the glass ceiling.
September 2, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Squiggy said,
September 2, 2008 at 11:33 pm
MartianBachelor said,
Polls from a week or two ago were showing about 20% of Hillary’s supporters were now doing the switcheroo thing and were now going to vote for McCain. Increasing that number by just 10% (to 22%) could be important in making a few swing states even closer. That was what the reference was designed to do. It wasn’t necessarily meant to be taken all that literally. Trying for those votes is not an implausible angle for Palin and the R’s to take, given how many of Hillary’s supporters really couldn’t express any real reason for their enthusiasm for her other than the fact that she was a Vaginal-American, that it was “about time” (for a woman in high office), etc. Yes, their reason for voting for her, and thus maybe for Palin also, was really that shallow, but what are you gonna do? If the magical phrase “glass ceiling” turns the trick for `em, I really can’t fault any power hungry politician for trying to invoke its powers, since that’s just the nature of the beast during the Silly Season.
Now if only the D’s would try pandering to men some, in order to get our votes…
Hey, a guy can hope and dream about the promise of America, can’t he? :>
September 3, 2008 at 12:19 am
Marc H. Rudov said,
For you to suggest that Alaskan men put a pretty face in the governor’s chair to run their state into the ground is not only sexist, it is wildly stupid.
Palin obviously is a very talented woman who cleaned up corruption, reduced taxes, and took on the energy companies. THAT is why men elected her. She defeated a well-known Republican in the primary and a Democrat in the general election.
You are proof that too many men are intimidated by successful, talented women.
September 3, 2008 at 5:39 am
Squiggy said,
Your article assumes looks are not a factor and in fact we all know that they are, so, I ask again if you can prove that Palin made it on merit and not looks or simply beause she is a woman.
We here have had numerous discussions on whether we would like Condoleeza Rice to be POTUS (many do). Do you think it was because we think she’s hot?
Of course we notice what Sarah-cuda looks like. We’re human, and we have the gift of sight. What the hell does that have to do with her qualifications?
P.S. Marc isn’t the only one with authorization to delete posts here.
September 4, 2008 at 11:46 pm
VeteransAbroad said,
I agreed with Marc at the time this article was written but she turned out to be one of them.
October 30, 2008 at 7:21 am