At eight weeks pregnant, most of my workday was spent suppressing the urge to vomit on whomever I was interviewing.
That memory was why I was momentarily floored by the recent revelation that Serena Williams won the Australian Open final while at the same stage in her pregnancy, triumphing 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
My amazement abated when I also remembered shesa国际传媒檚 a supreme athlete and sports role model for the agessa国际传媒攁n absolute pro.
Why shouldnsa国际传媒檛 she prevail in her area of expertise while her uterus was occupied? I certainly wasnsa国际传媒檛 less able to quote sa国际传媒�90s TV like a prosa国际传媒攎y area of expertisesa国际传媒� when I had a tummy-expanding tenant.
Thing is, being a woman isnsa国际传媒檛 an impediment. Sure, we have socially constructed road-blocks, but we, in our respective areas of expertise, are good enough, smart enough and it really doesnsa国际传媒檛 matter at all whether you like us as we succeed. (Ten points if you can identify that bungled sa国际传媒�90s-ism.)
Thatsa国际传媒檚 what I like about our premier, actually.
She is an ace politician. She can deliver and take sharp political blows in equal measure and still come out unruffled, mastering the balance between light and serious better than the majority of her contemporaries.
Shesa国际传媒檚 confident, knows her material and doesnsa国际传媒檛 back down. Like Williams with tennis. Like me, with sa国际传媒�90s TV quotes.
BC Liberals know this, Isa国际传媒檇 assume. Thatsa国际传媒檚 why shesa国际传媒檚 their party leader.
Yet lately they seem to want to make her sound like shesa国际传媒檚 a victim and I cansa国际传媒檛 help but think that itsa国际传媒檚 a terrible bit of strategy that not only undermines the premier but women in general.
This all came up in a debate a week ago when BC NDP leader John Horgan repeatedly interrupted Clark. He was snarkysa国际传媒攍ike everyone elsesa国际传媒攁nd at one point he said she should sa国际传媒漷ake a few minutes and read something.sa国际传媒�
Clark handled it well, but party supporters were ridiculously excited about it.
Mike McDonald, who was previously Clarksa国际传媒檚 chief of staff got onto the Twitter and wrote sa国际传媒渟a国际传媒ut todaysa国际传媒檚 radio debate takes the cake. (Horgan) is clearly threatened by a strong female leader.sa国际传媒�
Pamela Martin, another party insider, took to Huffington Post to talk about Horgansa国际传媒檚 comments and equated them to casual sexism, noting it has no place in our political system.
Then all these women on the a political gossip page I follow took her words to heart and started posting about how they couldnsa国际传媒檛 vote for the NDP, now that they know Horgan is a sexist.
This threw me for a loop and made me actually wonder: Is John Horgan really a universal-daycare shilling sexist or was he simply utilizing the rules of engagement?
Itsa国际传媒檚 the latter, in case you donsa国际传媒檛 know where Isa国际传媒檓 going with this.
Politicians are unpleasant during debates. Theysa国际传媒檙e not making a case to be invited for dinner.
Thatsa国际传媒檚 where theysa国际传媒檙e supposed to be elbowing their way in and making a point, and we as observers take the theatrical with a grain of salt while we listen to where they stand on issues that affect our lives. As for how they conducted themselves, Horgan doesnsa国际传媒檛 have to like Clark. Clark doesnsa国际传媒檛 have to like Horgan. Theysa国际传媒檙e opponents of equal skill fighting for different things.
Calling what happened during the debate sexism doesnsa国际传媒檛 forward the case for womensa国际传媒檚 equality. What it did was capitalize on these unfortunate themes for the sake of political gain and that makes me a little nauseated.
