Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Twitter and Women

I'm still not quite understanding Twitter. I view it as a way of finding out mostly what Grace Dent and Susan Calman are doing with their hangovers... but, occasionally, I'll try and actually engage with it.

This isn't a "I did a thing on the internet and it went wrong and oh me" whine. But it is a puzzler.

I said something like "If we could cure some things, let gays marry, and put women in charge of some countries then we could switch Twitter off and go out." Not, I rush to point out a world-ending statement - I was in a Chinese Buffet at the time and waiting between dessert mountains. It got retweeted a bit (if that was you, thanks)... but here's the thing...

I mentioned how I'd put women in charge of more countries as a nice way of uniting (quagmire alert) Aung San Suu Kyi, protests at female circumcision and the fact that Angela Merkel appears to be the only person in Europe going "George, don't do that."

Thanks to the retweets I got a couple of comments. Only a couple... but both said, in effect "Women in power? No thanks. We tried that with Margaret Thatcher and look where that got us."

What annoyed me then... and still does... is that both of the people who said this... people who declared that 50% of the population, an entire gender, should NEVER be eligible to run a country based purely on ONE SINGLE example... both of the people who suggested this... were...

... women.

No, no I'm baffled.

1 comment:

ani said...

Oh dear. I fear i am one of those who made that reply and your response here is spot on; of course the experience of one woman shouldn't put me off the idea forever.

Sorry.

I'm female and I was 18 when Margaret Thatcher became prime minister - the year i became eligible to vote. Although i didn't vote for her i did feel the history of the moment - our first female prime minister. And (for me) politically it went so horribly wrong that somehow, in some way, when female leaders get mentioned my first reaction is to think of her and shudder. I have read your post and will henceforth mend my ways.

ani