A feminist is someone who believes in equal rights for women in every arena- political, social, and economic. Millions of us were born in a time when it was cool for women to demand equal rights- it’s a thing. Men had the right to vote, and naturally women should have a say as well, so women rallied for that right. Men went to war, and women journeyed from being content at home to believing that they too, could serve their country. Now we have women in combat. And in recent years, the conversation was cultivated that a woman could be President of these great United States if she so desires. Is a woman really the best person for the job? This question has nothing to do with whether or not Hillary Clinton is the best person to lead our nation--that’s an article in and of itself, but rather can any qualified, educated female run our country, and do so successfully?
For at least the last decade, Americans have been watching actresses portray the Commander in Chief on television. One might be able to say that perhaps television somewhat acclimated Americans to the idea, the possibility that sometime in our lifetime a woman would be in the oval office, and now here we are. This time is historic, monumental even. While many of us are cheering because we can hear the cracking of that glass ceiling, the question remains: is a woman holding the most powerful office in the country, maybe even the free world in the best interest of American citizens?
No. Well, not a definitive no, but there are concerns. Women can be leaders. Ambitious, intelligent, and powerful leaders. The fact is men and women are wired differently. There is no getting around it. While a woman can often perform at the same level as her male counterpart, the fact is that the emotional wiring of men and women is fundamentally different. Both sexes have a cluster of neurons in the brain, and in both sexes that cluster will “speak” to the appropriate portion of the brain to generate an action or emotion.
When the man experiences stimuli, his “cluster” speaks to the brain and tells him to deal with what is happening outside his body. So his visual cortex is more stimulated as well as the part of the brain that is responsible for motor actions, thus precipitating a physical reaction. However, when the woman experiences stimuli, her brain reacts much differently. The “cluster” in a woman’s brain speaks to the regions of her brain that tell her to respond to what is happening inside her body and areas such as the insular cortex and hypothalamus are alerted. These areas of the brain regulate a woman’s hormones, heart rate, blood pressure, and emotions.
The bottom line is this: while women can often physically do the same job that a man is able to, women are wired differently. There is no amount of education or preparation that can change the physiological composition of a woman’s brain. Those emotions would affect her as the leader of a nation. For instance, a female president who has to order the bombing of a village where children might die is more likely to hesitate because the emotional part of her brain is going to become engaged in her decision making process. Is a female leader going to be able to send young men into a combat zone while images of her own son are flashing through her mind?
There is no definitive answer here, but there is proof that the sexes are not wired the same. In a time of war, there is little to no room for hesitation in such a time of crisis. So perhaps it might be best if our nation’s First Lady wears the pearls and a man, our Commander-in-Chief, wears the pants.
