Women who run for and gain political office often have to deal with a series of double-binds, insofar as they may be judged as being both too masculine (insufficiently feminine) and not masculine enough (too feminine). Zamfirache, and Okimoto and Brescoll, as well as a number of the videos, take up the issue from a number of directions.
Discuss the kinds of expectations-traps which face women candidates and leaders as explored by these various authors, whether the arguments in the articles (and videos) offered reinforce or conflict with other arguments, and possible ways women can avoid these traps. What of the arguments presented in Peters that the leadership of women might be superior?
Finally, Elshtain has noted that, in the history of Western political and philosophical thought, the question of women’s “being” (or identity) and virtues has long been in question; how much does her work help to make sense of what can be expected from women politicians?
