"Women's hockey struggles for support and respect, and while men's hockey is marginalized on a national scale (in the United States), women's hockey fights even harder for a piece of the pie. In addition to inadequate financial support and respect, women's hockey players battle stereotypes that force them to defend their 'feminity' as they play a 'masculine game.'(CHeck the comments Anderson Cooper's blog is getting from women voters.)
"... pit-bull Palin doesn't seem to understand the complexities of women in the women's hockey world. It's safe to say she wasn't trying to associate herself with me, my community, or my experiences. I'd also wager that the large subset of gay women in the hockey world never crossed Palin's mind as she branded herself part of the hockey minority.
"... Palin's claim to authority as a 'hockey mom' is useful to her because this paradoxical phrase symbolizes the essence of Palin's brand. The unflinchingly patriotic masculinity associated with hockey allows Palin to take on a powerful position, but by fusing it with motherhood politics, she's kept within her God-given role as a submissive wife, mother, running mate, and perhaps even as a sort of First Lady. So, if I could chose between having my sport plugged nationally through Sarah Palin's frame of reference, or return to the status quo of being overlooked, let's just say that I'd watch bowling any day without complaint.
Related:
The Puck Stops Here: A Hockey Coach Analyzes Palin’s Brand (Michelle McAteer, Beacon Broadside; via Women's Hoops Blog)
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5 comments:
I do not want to read McAteer's e-mail when the Free Republic folks get a hold of those comments--especially if they realize she's Canadian. I hope she has really thick skin.
My goodness - Palin Derangement Syndrome is alive and well, isn't it?
McAteer was doing OK until she got off the blast about Palin being a "submissive wife". (Maybe McAteer is submissive, allowing herself to be called an "assistant coach".) Where does she get off calling the Governor of Alaska "submissive"? Palin is a tough, accomplished woman who happens to have different politics than McAteer. (Not to spoil a good narrative, but I somehow doubt that McAteer did enough research to know that Sarah Palin vetoed a Bill in Alaska that would deny spousal benefits to same sex couples.)
Politics is a rough sport -- you don't get elected to a local town Council, let alone State Governor, without being pretty tough minded. Don't like her politics? Fair enough. To tag her as "submissive", though, just because she is a wife and mother, is exactly the kind of judgemental, hateful bile that the gay community claims not to like receiving from others.
Modern feminism is supposed to mean that women can make their own choices. Just don't choose to be a wife and mother, though, or else you'll get the tired old, "submissive" taunt from unreconstituted bra burners. You can only make choices that the left views as appropriate - hold the correct political views and, if you really must, have one child only.
I'll tell you what, though -- Sarah Palin sure does get under the skin of her opponents. Clinton had that same quality in that he drove right wingers irrationally bonkers. Palin has been on the national political scene all of six weeks in the U.S., and already she is public enemy #1 for liberals. You would almost think they view her as some kind of a threat.
Thirty seconds of research put to rest any claim that Palin is any kind of supporter of equal marriage or spousal benefits for same-sex couples.
"Palin stated that she vetoed the bill because the Alaska attorney general had advised her that the bill was unconstitutional, citing the attorney general's stratement that the bill 'effectively eliminated the regulatory process as a way to comply with the Court's order,' and not because she believed same-sex partners of public employees should receive benefits. Indeed, in the veto message, Palin's office stated that she disagreed with the Alaska Supreme Court's actions: 'The Governor's veto does not signal any change or modification to her disagreement with the action and order by the Alaska Supreme Court.'
"Further, in a written questionnaire Palin completed during her 2006 gubernatorial campaign, the conservative group Eagle Forum Alaska asked: 'Do you support the Alaska Supreme Court's ruling that spousal benefits for state employees should be given to same-sex couples?' Palin replied: 'No, I believe spousal benefits are reserved for married citizens as defined in our constitution.' The Anchorage Daily News also reported on August 6, 2006, that Palin believes "[e]lected officials can't defy the court when it comes to how rights are applied, she said, but she would support a ballot question that would deny benefits to homosexual couples.' " — Media Matters, Sept. 1, 2008 (emphasis mine)
It seems to be a misinterpretation at best and myth at worst that Palin supported same-sex benefits.
Anyway, getting back to the main point, I linked to this to show the feelings of a woman in hockey, a perspective that has been left out of this debate. Maybe McAteer veered off a little wildly, but given the crap women hockey players have to put up with, I can't blame her.
Oh, and even right-wingers aren't seeing Palin as much of a threat.
I should point out Ms. McAteer is only 27 years old ... I'd say being assistant coach at a respected hockey school such as UMD at her age is pretty good!
I'm probably too late to jump in on this argument now, but here goes anyway.
Dennis said:
"Where does she get off calling the Governor of Alaska "submissive"? Palin is a tough, accomplished woman who happens to have different politics than McAteer."
What McAteer ACTUALLY said was:
". . . By fusing it with motherhood politics, she's kept within her God-given role as a submissive wife."
Now, to my point.
ROLE AS A SUBMISSIVE WIFE. McAteer is not calling Palin a submissive person, she's saying Palin is acting the submissive in order to win over the bigoted, sexist moron section within her party.
Palin is able to be both strong - like a hockey player - and meek - like a mom.
What McAteer is criticizing is the manipulative bullshit of it all. She's not criticizing Palin being a mom. She's criticizing Palin the manipulator. Instead of talking straight to the camera and showing us her strength and intelligence, she would rather play a role and get an oscar (vp nod).
Now, anyone can take umbrage with McAteer's comments and her analysis if they like, but at least understand what she's saying first.
The way Dennis took those McAteer comments and twisted them would be like me taking his comments that included the words "gay community" and twisting it to say "Why does Dennis think the gay community hates mothers?"
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