Hey Jen, I don't think I've seen one of your posts before, but this was a good one. Keep up the good work!

I think this repetitive mentioning of Pelosi's family can be looked at in a different way. Of course, men aren't asked about their family obligations in interviews because it is assumed that is a "woman's job." But instead of saying we shouldn't ask women about their families, how about that we should be asking men as well? If the media takes more of an interest in the family lives of men, perhaps men would make greater commitments to their families and perform more domestic and care-giving tasks. Thoughts?

I'd echo the congrats... Though this exchange definitely gave me pause:

NANCY PELOSI: Maybe it takes a woman to clean house.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN REPORTER: That kind of has a sexist undertone to it? Is that deliberate?
PELOSI: Well, it is, because the fact is a woman represents what's new in politics.
KOPPEL: How is that?
PELOSI: Because it has never happened before.

Was the "clean house" metaphor really necessary?

I too welcome my 3rd-in-succession gyno-overlord, especially if she starts cramming semi-progressive legislation down the gullet of the worst Administration in history.

And I think the focus on her family is good, if only as insulation against those "family values first" idiot voters, and in stark contrast with the last transitional Speaker, Newt Gingrich. I think her ice-cream-addicted granddaughter makes for a better campaign prop that Newt's second ex-wife.

Yes, but will she post her recipe for chocolate chip cookies? ;-(

I really enjoy your writing.

I totally see your point, but I'm kind of with teddy10 on this. I've faced much more discrimination as a mother than I ever did as a kidless woman, even in a male-dominated workforce. I read it as she's a powerful woman AND a mother; rock the eff on, Nancy. (However, the fact that she raised her kids before she entered politics speaks volumes to me.)

Pelosi has made it a point to discuss her family committments openly, which makes it fair game for the media.

I agree with teddy10 - we need to be asking our male legislators hwo they "balance work and family" more often - lest we humanize their role instead of forcing women to dehumanize theirs.

I just think it's completely awesome that you heard those two women speaking like that outside of a university setting.

Where I live in Texas, someone would have linked the words "feminist" and "contagious" and hit the ground in fear...

teddy10, you took the words right out of my mouth. Totally agreed.

My favorite Pelosi-family tidbit is the one about how her husband buys her clothes for her because she hates shopping. Cute-couply AND anti-fashion... more or less my ideal relationship.

Cassandra, that's deliciously ironic considering the focus on how well-dressed she was a short while back. Imagine if the media had known at the time that her HETEROSEXUAL MALE HUSBAND dressed her! Haha!

you know what also comes with the "family first" description for pelosi in most articles? a mention of how "attractive " (goes along with the dressing thing) she is. i even had numerous male friends mention that. i couldnt stand it.

As the first commentator after Nancy Pelosi's rousing speach, MSNBC gave us Sally Quinn on Pelosi: Hairdos, clothing, laundry.

MSNBC, could you possibly have found someone who'd bring up more trivial issues around the new Speaker of the House?

Why not Martha Stewart?

Or Betty Crocker?

Okay Betty's fictional, but I wouldn't put it past MSNBC.

As the first commentator after Nancy Pelosi's rousing speach, MSNBC gave us Sally Quinn on Pelosi: Hairdos, clothing, laundry.

MSNBC, could you possibly have found someone who'd bring up more trivial issues around the new Speaker of the House?

Why not Martha Stewart?

Or Betty Crocker?

Okay Betty's fictional, but I wouldn't put it past MSNBC.

At lunch, my coworkers and I watched the swearing in of the 110th Congress on CNN for a bit. I mentioned that I bet we could make a drinking game out of it, by taking 1 drink every time Nancy Pelosi's looks or family obligations were mentioned (I was joking, we don't actually drink at work. Or before noon). Suprisingly, I heard no mention of either of those things during the 30 minutes of it we saw. So thanks for proving me wrong, CNN!

(I was joking, we don't actually drink at work. Or before noon)

God, how boring must YOUR job be? ;)

Was the "clean house" metaphor really necessary?

Well, considering how corrupt the previous Congress was, hell yes. It wasn't the use of the metaphor but the drawing attention to it by Koppel that was weird. Why shouldn't a female politician whose first item on the agenda is cracking down on corruption talk about cleaning house? Why is it immediately assumed to be sexist?

Clean the house and drain that swamp!

Had the media really wanted to go after her, they could have talked about how she lagged, not led, the netroots and even Emanuel this campaign; how her own unwillingness to show moral strength and courage against the wildest, left-most elements of her very wild district showed weakness to an opponent; how she was luckier than smart in the way she handled the ineffectual punch at Hoyer.

When they were talking about grandkids and her suits and cleaning house, they were being nice. They should have asked her whether preemptively taking impeachment off the table, rather than saying nothing, gave strength to a weakened Republican minority.

If you sit at a poker table and you don't know who the moron is, you are the moron. I hope Pelosi is not the moron.

men in politics only succeed in the the prescribed method. we women get to invent a new one. let's invent.

men succeed in politics by following the prescribed method. we get to invent a new one. let's invent

I think this is an excellent post, Jen. My experience, however, has me still feeling like and, I think, acting like a feminist, but, I do push aside my work when I feel that my family responsibilities or any one member's needs require it. I don't think that should disqualify me as a feminist (and I'm not even sure you're implying that).

Remember the generation in which Pelosi was raised and in which she became who she is. She's just two years younger than my mother, who raised three kids, married at 19, but is well-educated and worked parttime for 14 years in an Ivy league genetics research lab WHILE helping my father run a successful home business, oh, and raising me and my brothers. I witnessed my mother being torn between different worlds, and I continue that as well, even though my options are greater, the path is more well-trodden (is that a word!?) and I get more support in society than I would have in my mother or Pelosi's day, when they were my age.

So - I think it's relative. I also happen to have grown up in the New Haven district represented by Rosa DeLauro, who I believe is around the same generation (?).

I hear what you're saying about why do we get asked such questions, but I would agree with a few others here who've said, let's make that a good thing - some differences should be exploited and a woman's ability, whether innate or by necessity, to juggle others' needs as well as their own and still make everyone feel like they're getting something serves political life well.

Again - great post - just the right tone to give congrats and still express your opinion without being heavy-handed. Thanks.

And another thing! If the media wants to pre-occupy itself with ridiculousness and stuff that we aren't interested in regarding Pelosi's appearance etc., you know what? It gives her cover to get work done. :) And we should never forget, and always remind others, this is the MEDIA's filtering, not necessarily anyone else's. AND, any woman watching the media knows better anyway - or at least has her own experience and the experiences of other women around her to look at. Women tend to be a lot smarter than the media!

I get what many of you are saying about asking about family balance with male politicians as well, but don't you think that this is going beyond what one needs to know about how good a person is at their job, i.e. what voters should be concerned with? It seems to me that when you encourage those kinds of questions you encourage candidates being judged on things that have absolutely nothing to do with their effectiveness as politicians. For example, Clinton's impeachment--how much of that came from people thinking that Clinton's marital infidelities were fair game for deciding whether he could keep his job?

Also, when the family situation becomes acceptable criteria (and yes, I know for a lot of people, it already is) for comparing political candidates, is it such a big leap that it should also be acceptable criteria for comparing candidates for jobs that you, Jane Q. Public, might be applying for? Do you think that it is fair for your employer to ask you in an interview about your marital status, children, plans to get pregnant, etc.? I know it happens a lot, but is it fair? These are things that a lot of feminist organizations like Moms Rising are fighting against.

Is it ok to condone/encourage the examination of someone's family life just because they are more in the public eye? I mean, if Nancy Pelosi wants to talk about it, that's her prerogative, but should we demand this of politicians? It seems to me that would be encouraging the sort of thinking that already prevents so many single women from running for office (not to mention making it damn hard for single men, or anyone who doesn't fit the nuclear family template). Similar concerns came up a while back with the posting about Laura Bush's comments about Condoleeza Rice's ability to run for President.

(Sorry for the long comment)