Anna Holmes On the “Anger” of Public Women
Today the Washington Post features a great column by Anna Holmes talking about female anger, but specifically how the anger of public women is perceived. She mostly focuses the recent interview with Newt Gringrich’s second wife Marianne and Michelle Obama’s portrayal and reaction to, the new book by Jodi Kantor, The Obamas.
Holmes is incredible perceptive about how we view women’s anger, even to the point of when it’s called “anger.” It’s worth reading because it applies to all public women, celebrity and politician alike.
But she also highlights a tiny moment from Elizabeth Warren’s interview on Tuesday with Jon Stewart.
As writer Litsa Dremousis asserted in “I’m Mad at You Because You’re an Idiot, Not Because I’m a Woman,” a recent and highly trafficked post on the women’s Web site Jezebel, it’s “time for more men to understand our behavior isn’t aberrant, and for more women not to feel ‘guilty’ for not staying in the narrow range of traditionally accepted emotional responses.” (Full disclosure: I used to edit the site.)
On Tuesday, Elizabeth Warren did just that. The Senate candidate and Harvard professor, appearing on “The Daily Show” to discuss the state of the American economy, didn’t skip a beat after her ire over corporate lobbying in Washington was called into question by host Jon Stewart. “For a second, it does seem like you’re a little mad at me,” interjected Stewart, leaning away in apparent discomfort with the zeal on display.
Warren responded by tilting her head to the side — as if to say, “I’ve heard that one before” — then delved into an animated discussion of Chinese vs. American infrastructure.
If you missed the moment watching the interview, you can see it below.
Published by Kate McCarthy on 01/27/2012