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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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To: Wyrd bið ful aræd

True.
There are statistical trends for men too.

For example, men are less likely to be registered to vote than women ... and men who are registered to vote are less likely to actually vote than are women. Both are huge factors in election results.


21 posted on 03/25/2016 10:10:44 AM PDT by Lorianne
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To: Kaslin

The only thing for which THIS independent woman is concerned is the financial state of this country. If there are no jobs and no money, all the social issues conservatives cling to will mean NOTHING. Stop spending, you government twits. The future of this country depends on it.


22 posted on 03/25/2016 10:14:06 AM PDT by bigredkitty1 (March 5,2010. Rest in peace, sweet boy. I will miss you, Big Red.)
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To: Kaslin

Since men and women vote in roughly the same numbers, why are women, rather than men, “key”? Is it because men are more predictable?


23 posted on 03/25/2016 10:14:46 AM PDT by Tax-chick ("The world is full of wonder, but you see it only if you look." ~NicknamedBob)
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To: Kaslin

What do women really want? There is no correct answer to that question.


24 posted on 03/25/2016 10:19:01 AM PDT by TruthWillWin (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money.)
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To: Kaslin

What do women want?

They each want to be the Princess AND the star of the show.

All the time.


25 posted on 03/25/2016 10:19:31 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: TruthWillWin

Are you saying women don’t know what they want?


26 posted on 03/25/2016 10:22:26 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: BenLurkin
What do women want? They each want to be the Princess AND the star of the show. All the time.

And to see that scheming b*tch who sits in the cube across from them, who is always giving them the stink-eye and whose boobs are obviously fake, set on fire as an angry wolverine is shoved up her dress.


27 posted on 03/25/2016 10:22:49 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Tax-chick

They don’t vote in roughly the same numbers.

http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/resources/genderdiff.pdf


28 posted on 03/25/2016 10:23:08 AM PDT by Lorianne
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To: Tax-chick
Is it because men are more predictable?

no, it is because statistically females are easier to manipulate.

29 posted on 03/25/2016 10:25:09 AM PDT by bankwalker (In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.)
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To: JPJones
Not if he is not the nominee
30 posted on 03/25/2016 10:26:03 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: Lorianne

Excellent point


31 posted on 03/25/2016 10:27:04 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: bigredkitty1; All
The only thing for which THIS independent woman is concerned is the financial state of this country. If there are no jobs and no money, all the social issues conservatives cling to will mean NOTHING. Stop spending, you government twits. The future of this country depends on it.

AMEN SISTER! But will they do it? NO
32 posted on 03/25/2016 10:27:46 AM PDT by notdownwidems (Washington DC has become the enemy of free people everywhere)
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To: Kaslin

More! More! More!

and turning men in eunuchs starting in pre-school.

and then b!tch!ng about how there are no real men to protect the country when we are attacked.


33 posted on 03/25/2016 10:29:25 AM PDT by MIchaelTArchangel
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To: CivilWarBrewing

It is interesting that the “oldest” cultures on the planet are ones in which women are subjugated and repressed. We typically attribute that subjugation to the antiquated culture, but there may indeed be something reciprocal going on.


34 posted on 03/25/2016 10:38:08 AM PDT by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
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To: Kaslin

We are in a lot of trouble with the mean girl types, who have gone Tumblr and are all into victimology (I kid you not!). The ones I’ve polled are for Bernie Sanders. Among the others there’s not a lot of enthusiasm because all the candidates are regarded as not very good. I’ve heard Trump bandied about as a possibility by a few, nobody trusts Hillary.

I think Trump is making a mistake in attacking Mrs. Cruz, even though I’m not buying the Cruz campaign’s “plausible deniability” and I do think Mrs. Cruz is a sock puppet. Ted! pointing his finger in the camera while calling Trump names first of all sounds scripted, secondly necessitates a close-up of Ted!, which gives us a great view up his nostrils and at whatever it is that goes on with his exaggerated weird lip tube thing, which you really can’t unsee.

This is the point at which we be hearing more about what the candidates are proposing, but instead all we get is Trump getting dragged down in the mud.

Hillary is an evil sock-puppet (sure as hell she’s not one of us!), Mrs. Cruz is evil and a sock-puppet, but her evil has to do with being a globalist, otherwise I think there’s sympathy out there for her. Ted! should probably be nicer to her and stop doing stealth dumps of his stress on her.

Mrs. Trump is just fricking adorable with her husband. His family is functional and people who have known him a long time actually like him!

We need less scummy b.s. and more policy.


35 posted on 03/25/2016 10:44:14 AM PDT by BlackAdderess (What would poll higher, having the GOPe as houseguests, or having black mold?)
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To: Charles Martel

Cultures that value warriors tend to conquer their more peaceful neighbors because they are expansionistic. Warriors are guys. Now when you have some balance (the more successful Chinese dynasties, England, etc.) you have peace and prosperity. When you have extreme awfulness you have lots of war and not a lot of productivity (see Middle East).


36 posted on 03/25/2016 10:58:43 AM PDT by BlackAdderess (What would poll higher, having the GOPe as houseguests, or having black mold?)
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To: Kaslin
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.

Translation: Hitlery aspires to be the Jesse Jackson and/or Al Sharpton of the feminist movement???????

37 posted on 03/25/2016 11:09:01 AM PDT by RatRipper (The biggest threat to US national security is our government and those in it.)
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To: notdownwidems

The better question is: Will the ‘conservatives’ that sat out the 2008 and 2012 elections pouting FINALLY put the good of the country FIRST and vote (at the very least) for the candidate that will do the least amount of damage to the country? They need to ask themselves not is Trump or Cruz conservative enough, but are they more conservative than either Hillary or Bernie? The obvious answer is a resounding ‘YES’!

You vote your beliefs in the primaries. You vote for the good of the country in the national presidential election.


38 posted on 03/25/2016 11:09:32 AM PDT by bigredkitty1 (March 5,2010. Rest in peace, sweet boy. I will miss you, Big Red.)
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To: JPJones
Independent women hate Hillary and are NOT going to vote Cruz.

If polls are correct then Trump fares even worse.

39 posted on 03/25/2016 11:11:00 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
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To: Charles Martel

Factoid for you. Japan was initially a matriarchy, tried to put the men in charge but reverted back to a matriarchy shortly thereafter because the guys caused too much death and destruction. Not sure when they switched again but it’s interesting that they have been both at various points in their history.


40 posted on 03/25/2016 11:11:27 AM PDT by BlackAdderess (What would poll higher, having the GOPe as houseguests, or having black mold?)
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