Related Posts
More From This Category
- Esurance’s New Ad Campaign: Pushing All The Right Buttons
- The One Very Important Thing You Can Learn From “Back to School” Marketers
- Friday Fun: Alan King Tells Us Why Marketing To Women Is Important
- When Free Isn’t Free Enough
Last Friday, John McCain anointed Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate for the 2008 presidential election.
Right on schedule, the emails and phone calls started pouring into my office, most of them assuming that I was excited to the point of hysteria because a woman had been named to the ticket.
That made me smile.
It also happened with Hillary Clinton. People assumed that I supported her campaign and would vote for her in the primaries.
I didn’t.
Last Friday, people believed I would be thrilled that McCain had named a woman to be his vice-presidential candidate. They predicted it would influence my personal choice for president.
It didn’t.
Being a woman, a marketing professional and the co-author of a book on the female customer has very little to do with who I vote for or which candidate I support.
I am not swayed personally by what I view with an objective, professional eye.
I do not vote for someone based on the color of their skin or the structure of their chromosomes. I vote for the candidate who shows the greatest promise of leadership.
I do not vote for a woman because I think she typifies what society calls a good mother. I vote for the candidate who exemplifies the characteristics of a great parent.
Neither my age nor a candidate’s age will dictate my vote. I vote for the platform that best represents the ideals I grew up with and embrace. In 2008, the word ‘generation’ does not equal ‘age.’ Today, ‘generation’ is defined by the flower children of the 1960s and the college students of today who share a vision for future beyond themselves. It is equally defined by the children of both post-World War II and the 1980s who believe in individuality and the power of self-determination. The future knows nothing of age, only the lens through which it is viewed.
I do not vote based on the influence of traditional media. Through the Internet, I am connected with men and women around the world, most of whom I’ll never meet. They have voices and opinions and stories that resonate with me and have an impact on my perspective. My brain is wired for the real, authentic stories of others, not the bits and bites force-fed to me through newspaper reports and television anchors. I am not persuaded by typical polls and surveys that still rely on calling landline phones when many people under the age of 30 will never have one, and that even with a margin of error cannot equal the honesty and anonymity that an Internet survey would provide.
The message of each candidate is valid in its own right. One candidate rallies with “country first.” The other proclaims, “This campaign was never about me; it’s about you.”
I will choose to pour my hope into that message which best connects with my individual needs and desires – that which will not only benefit me, but my family, my friends, and my country. Every other woman in America will do the same; their vote may not be the same as mine, but it definitely won’t be based the female stereotypes of yesterday.
To both parties: I think that female voters just may surprise you come November.
I certainly hope you learn from it.
Michele Miller is a writer, speaker, and consultant on ways to capture the heart of the female customer. The co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth, she consults with businesses of all sizes across North America
Michele,
Wonderful, wonderful are these words you have just spoken! Labels have value — to a point — they serve as shorthand in our cognitive and communication processes. But when they are used to circumvent critical thinking, they can be dangerous. Clearly, you have matured beyond being directed by labels. Male and female, conservative and liberal, straight and gay, young and old, etc. are constructs that are best engaged sparingly without compromising their respective subtle distinctions. Viewing people in terms of humanistic values as opposed to viewing them through the distorted lens of labels is indeed a more civilized way of regarding our fellow human beings.
Thanks again for your beautiful wisdom on this point — regardless of your voting preferences!
David
Hi, Michele -
Fantastic post! You have articulated for all of us – in language both powerful and poetic – the truth that lies at the heart of one of the most discussed and least understood elements of this election.
Isn’t it astonishing that, despite enormous awareness of the importance of “the women’s vote,” the media and certain candidates seem to be blissfully ignorant about the woman voter? Just when we thought we had gone beyond soccer moms, security moms and most recently single moms as overly simplified handles for the multi-million multi-minded women who will determine the outcome of this election, we see again that some of the key players in this campaign are having a hard time keeping up.
Some are struggling more than others, I would say. The very idea that appointing a woman running mate would cause any substantial portion of the 18 million women who backed Hillary to jump the fence on their beliefs and priorities simply to vote for someone of the female persuasion….! Well, happily, I’m not on the convention docket, because it simply leaves me speechless!
Having already tipped my hand as to who I might be favoring in November – ;>) – I can’t resist sharing one more woman’s take on this surprising development. Click here for Maureen Dowd’s hilarious column on what she calls the Miss Congeniality candidate. I mean no disrespect to Governor Palin – but the situation itself is such a Hollywood scenario. And with a simple pair of spectacles, Sandra Bullock could slip right into the part with nary a change in hair or make-up.
Well, Michele – just wanted to thank you and congratulate you on a wonderful and worthwhile point of view, blindingly clear and beautifully written. It will be fascinating to watch developments unfold from here, don’t you think?
Hooray!
Nice post. Well written. Good point of view.
Thanks for sharing these ideas.
I agree! I’m a Canadian, but remember hearing the assumptions in the media that Gov. Palin’s nomination would just automatically bring McCain more female voters.
While we seem to naturally place a lot of trust in our sisters, I’m not certain that it carries over into govnt. It’s almost insulting to presume that women voters will say the equivalent of “I’m a girl and she’s a girl, so she’ll be my friend and look out for me.”
It’s as true as saying “Obama is handsome so more women will vote for him”. It actually implies that we diminish or don’t fully understand our responsibility as voters.