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Women are Key to November: What Do They Really Want?
Townhall.com ^ | March 25, 2016 | Suzanne Fields

Posted on 03/25/2016 9:52:25 AM PDT by Kaslin

Women think men are transparent and easy to figure out. Everybody knows that. But women are a puzzle to men -- ask any man. When Sigmund Freud posed his famous question, he confessed that even he had no answer.

"The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not been able to answer despite my 30 years of research into the feminine soul," he wrote to one of his precocious female students, "is, 'what does a woman want?'"

The man who popularized psychoanalysis couldn't come to a conclusion on this matter. It's clear to everybody, though, that what women want today is: what everybody wants. Women want everything. Some women have speculated that Freud was only being coy or playful, but his question lingers. This is the season where presidential candidates -- and every other office, large or small -- must ponder, as billions of dollars ride on the answer.

Hillary Clinton is betting everything on women's issues, and has based her campaign on pandering to the feminist vote. Donald Trump, ever the outlier, seems to be basing his campaign on insulting and aggravating women. It's not unlikely that some women will take revenge for the Donald's crudities aimed at the female persuasion. He has tapped into his well of anger; women can, too. People are full of surprises.

Clinton's polling gurus were surprised early on to find that many young women are not as enamored of the former first lady as expected. Some find her self-centered and see her as a flawed role model. The strength of Clinton's female vote is concentrated in what the French call "women of a certain age" These women are inclined to sympathize with feminism even if they don't buy all the particulars; they learned the hard way to overcome barriers erected in politics and business. But younger women who follow these pathfinders don't feel the constraints their mothers and grandmothers did. They've broken through glass ceilings in many different careers.

A recent study from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, however, finds disquieting implications for feminists who imagined that every woman would one day join them and march to the beat of the same drum. Researchers surveyed thousands of boys and girls; they found that resistance to female teenage leaders exists among teenage boys and teenage girls. There's even resistance among some mothers of daughters. "These biases," the researchers say, "could be powerful barriers to leadership for a generation of teen girls with historically high levels of education who are key to closing our nation's gender gap in leadership."

These findings suggest that "much can be done to prevent and reduce gender biases in children." Conservatives would argue that the researchers have only rediscovered something inherent to the female nature: The resentments of teenage girls are the natural jealousies that begin early in life.

The study's results reflected the answers of 20,000 boys and girls of diverse economic and ethnic backgrounds from 59 middle schools and high schools. Focus groups and individual interviews followed. One conclusion is that teenagers of both sexes hold biases against female leaders in powerful professions and occupations, such as politics.

"Our study points to insidious bias against girls as leaders that comes from many sources," says Richard Weissbourd, senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. "Bias can be a powerful -- and invisible -- barrier to teenage girls' leadership. Yet parents and teachers can do a great deal to stem these biases and help children manage them."

Researchers asked students whether they would give more power to student councils led by either white, black or Hispanic girls or boys. They were surprised to find that students were least likely to give more power to white female-led student councils, and more likely to give more power to councils led by white males. In fact, white girls themselves were least likely to favor white girls.

It's easy to make too much of a survey of teenagers, who usually have little interest in anything beyond their own concerns. Their opinions are often merely whims that are as fleeting as the weather. Most of the teenagers surveyed actually had no settled opinion about the place of girls in teenage leadership. But considering that women have recently been dropping out of the labor force in measurable numbers, the implications for the future are nevertheless profound. Clinton's ultimate performance may have a strong impact on how young women see themselves as prospective leaders.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2016issues; ignorantbirther; womensvote
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1 posted on 03/25/2016 9:52:25 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Independent women hate Hillary and are NOT going to vote Cruz.


2 posted on 03/25/2016 9:54:26 AM PDT by JPJones
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To: Kaslin
Women are Key to November: What Do They Really Want?

That question has puzzled men for a long time. Even Sigmund Freud finally admitted he didn't know.

3 posted on 03/25/2016 9:55:08 AM PDT by Pearls Before Swine (The would-be Empress has no clothes. My eyes!)
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To: Kaslin

Last election it was free birth control.


4 posted on 03/25/2016 9:55:18 AM PDT by Jay Thomas (If not for my faith in Christ, I would despair.)
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To: Kaslin

Why is it always Trump or Hillary when it comes to women’s concerns? Canadian Cruz has affairs with 5 different women and nothing is even mentioned.


5 posted on 03/25/2016 9:55:40 AM PDT by sanjuanbob
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To: Kaslin

The question is stupid.

Women (like everyone else) are individuals.

To propose that all women think alike and want the same things is sexist, anti-individualist ... as well as blatantly illogical.


6 posted on 03/25/2016 9:55:50 AM PDT by Lorianne
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To: Kaslin

If only poor Harry Blackmun hadn’t been hard of hearing.

In comes Jane Roe, and before you know it, 55 million babies are dead.

She’s thinking, “It wasn’t ‘choose’ - it was SHOES!”


7 posted on 03/25/2016 9:57:18 AM PDT by Jim Noble (Diseases desperate grown, are by desperate appliance relieved, or not at all)
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To: Kaslin

Part-time jobs at full-time wages, junior getting straight A’s with no supervision, and men doing the household chores.


8 posted on 03/25/2016 9:57:33 AM PDT by Jack Hammer (uff said.)
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To: Kaslin

Most women voted for Obama twice guess who they will vote for this time.
Some people never learn no matter how great the pain.


9 posted on 03/25/2016 9:57:40 AM PDT by Vaduz (women and children to be impacted the most.)
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To: Kaslin

Apparently Ted Cruz (sorry couldn’t resist)


10 posted on 03/25/2016 9:59:43 AM PDT by LambSlave
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To: Kaslin

“what does a woman want?”

Easy-peasy.

The man with the biggest.....(scroll down)

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wallet. Trump in a landslide.


11 posted on 03/25/2016 9:59:59 AM PDT by Jim Noble (Diseases desperate grown, are by desperate appliance relieved, or not at all)
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To: Kaslin

This is also the theme now of FOX to promote the GOPe establushment’s attempt to steal the nomination by means of corruption to disfranchise the voters, they will say “we are only doing this in the name of women” - you watch, they will soon add “in the name of the children” to this disgusting agenda to attack the Relublican base.

FOX News is literally sitting there WITH the Republican establishment with that disgusting nepotism of Megyn McCain. Besides being totally sophomoric and clearly does not have any talent whatsoever other than to sit there and act so insulted that the Republican base doesn’t like her father for a long time now, her only purpose is to be the token tot for the GOPe. Could there be no more clear message that FOX has simply out dated themselves as mostly a mob of old school bandaids for Mitch McConnell, Romney, McCain and the entire Republican establishment whose days are past and their deserved suffocation already overdue. FOX is like old VHS player. They have no idea how they are going to be put away in the closet and then eventually thrown away unless they get rid of half their staff, the two Megyns need to go first.


12 posted on 03/25/2016 10:03:08 AM PDT by ShivaFan
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To: Lorianne

Women are individuals, but statistical trends can be established among populations. Large sub-groups of the female population are extremely leftist in their outlook, for whatever reason.


13 posted on 03/25/2016 10:03:21 AM PDT by Wyrd bið ful aræd (Don't Tread On Me)
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To: Kaslin

Females destroyed America. I stand by my statement.


14 posted on 03/25/2016 10:04:12 AM PDT by CivilWarBrewing (u)
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To: Jay Thomas
Last election it was free birth control.

Trial balloons for Free College and Free Tampons have been floated.


15 posted on 03/25/2016 10:05:10 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Kaslin; All

“American girls want everything in the world you can possibly imagine.”
-The Rolling Stones


16 posted on 03/25/2016 10:05:55 AM PDT by notdownwidems (Washington DC has become the enemy of free people everywhere)
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To: Jim Noble

You’re not gonna vote in the general election, in November, are you, because if you are so sure that he will win in a landslide, you can just stay home and don’t bother to vote.


17 posted on 03/25/2016 10:06:32 AM PDT by Kaslin (He needed theThe l ignorant to reelect him. He got them and now we have to pay the consequences)
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To: Kaslin

I want someone who puts America and Americans first and who will take all possible action to stop illegal immigration and the legal immigration of undesirables (i.e., enemies of America)cold.


18 posted on 03/25/2016 10:06:46 AM PDT by Cecily
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To: Kaslin

There are more women of eligible age to vote than men

There are more women who are REGISTERED to vote than men.

More registered voter women actually turn up to vote than registered voter men.

If men are worried about how women vote, they really should register to vote and actually get to the polls and vote in greater numbers.

Gender difference in Voter Turnout
http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/resources/genderdiff.pdf


19 posted on 03/25/2016 10:06:53 AM PDT by Lorianne
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To: MeganC

Ping Megan Dear!


20 posted on 03/25/2016 10:08:44 AM PDT by KC_Lion (The G.O.P. is officially in a State of Civil War. The Union is Dissolved.)
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