| Teens' Take on a Female President |
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| by: Laura McCloskey |
| “[Women] are just as smart and educated as males, and can therefore do just as good of a job as the president,” said a fourteen-year-old teen from Los Angeles, California. This favorable attitude towards a female president was recently confirmed by a poll showing teens supporting a female candidate over the rest of the presidential contenders. The online poll of over 1,000 teens found that out of all the candidates in the 2008 election, including both Democrats and Republicans, 21% of teens aged 12 to 19 support Senator Hillary Clinton while 18% prefer Senator Barack Obama. The poll shows significantly more girls supporting Clinton and more boys supporting Obama. |
| OTHER NOTABLE FEMALE CANDIDATES 1872, 1892 Victoria Woodhull: The first female to run for president. 1972 Shirley Chisholm: The first black woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination. 1999/2000 Elizabeth Dole: Ran on the Republican ticket but dropped out because of a lack of funding. |
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| Teens are even campaigning for the female candidate, Hillary Clinton, in the 2008 election. One group of teens created a website devoted to helping Senator Hillary Clinton become president. www. teensforclinton.org has chapters in five states. “Teens for Clinton” say they support Clinton because she will “make health care more affordable, college more available, |
| free us from dependence on foreign oil, [and] create new jobs.” Their website lists ten different reasons for supporting Clinton, none of which mention that she would be the first woman voted president of the United States. One high school junior from the San Francisco Bay Area, Lailah Butkowski, says the United States needs a woman president. “We need change from the usual male-dominated role in society.” In a recent editorial, Lailah touted women’s strength and the positive influence a female president will have on girls in the United States. “I have no doubt in my mind that men and women can be equally good leaders, but after our first president took his place in office, we have had nothing but men running our country,” said Lailah. |
| Could teens’ positive attitudes towards a female president predict a historic change in the United States presidency? A number of women have run for the U.S. presidency starting with Victoria Woodhull in 1872 The number of women running for president has increased from one in 1872 to 8 in 2004. However, the United States lags behind many countries that have already elected |
| women leaders including Great Britain, Indonesia, and Finland. Condoleezza Rice, Madeleine Albright, and Janet Reno have all held high positions in the United States cabinet, where teens can see them as role models. Teens in 2007 grew up watching these women in power, and seem to be ready to see a woman in the number one position in the United States. Lailah sums up teen attitudes when she says, “I am pleased to see that Senator Clinton is in the 2008 presidential race. Will she win or lose? Who knows? Either way, I hope to see many other female presidential candidates in the years to come.” |