The nature of the 2016 Democratic National Convention is historic. It will be the first time a woman secures a presidential nomination from a major political party in the United States.
But there will be another person making a certain kind of history this week: Bill Clinton.
The former president is speaking tonight in an approximation of the keynote spot usually reserved for the future first lady. The speech is among many highly anticipated speeches from a star-studded lineup. But more than that, it is the first time such a speech has been given by a man.
It’s odd to talk about Bill making history in this way when his wife's achievement will surely be so much more significant to history than his.
But the less-talked-about part of changing achievement for women in high-achieving roles is how they change family dynamics at home. That means the roles of their spouses need to change as well.
If we are to have a woman president — this time, or at any point in the future — we will have to let go of the traditional idea of the first lady. It’s mostly taken on such a prominent role in part because of outdated ideas about marriage. As marriage evolves, the role of first spouse should evolve too.
Historically, the first lady was thought to be little more than "feminine window dressing to the office of the presidency," wrote Robert P. Watson, a former US representative and commentator, in the 2000 book The Presidents’ Wives: Reassessing the Office of the First Lady.
Some historical first ladies have gotten political. Watson credits Edith Wilson with softening President Woodrow Wilson’s position on women’s suffrage, and Eleanor Roosevelt was a famously action-oriented first lady. But they are the exception, not the rule. The role didn’t evolve much until women began agitating for equal rights following the 1960s and '70s. Indeed, Betty Ford used the position to advocate for the now-dead Equal Rights Amendment.
Hillary Clinton found the first lady role to be challenging. She seemed to resent the "window dressing" role she would be asked to take on. Indeed, while her husband was governor of Arkansas, she continued her work as an attorney — an unusual move at the time.
She defended her decision to continue working, famously telling Time magazine she could have "stayed home, baked cookies and had teas" but opted to continue her professional career.
The magazine heard from women who derided the "smug bitchiness" of that quote or complained that women who stay home "hardly have the time" for cookie baking. But the quote didn’t really capture Hillary’s point; as Time magazine confessed last year, there was another half to the quote: "The work that I have done as a professional, a public advocate, has been aimed … to assure that women can make the choices, whether it’s full-time career, full-time motherhood or some combination."
But there will be another person making a certain kind of history this week: Bill Clinton.
The former president is speaking tonight in an approximation of the keynote spot usually reserved for the future first lady. The speech is among many highly anticipated speeches from a star-studded lineup. But more than that, it is the first time such a speech has been given by a man.
It’s odd to talk about Bill making history in this way when his wife's achievement will surely be so much more significant to history than his.
But the less-talked-about part of changing achievement for women in high-achieving roles is how they change family dynamics at home. That means the roles of their spouses need to change as well.
If we are to have a woman president — this time, or at any point in the future — we will have to let go of the traditional idea of the first lady. It’s mostly taken on such a prominent role in part because of outdated ideas about marriage. As marriage evolves, the role of first spouse should evolve too.
Historically, the first lady was thought to be little more than "feminine window dressing to the office of the presidency," wrote Robert P. Watson, a former US representative and commentator, in the 2000 book The Presidents’ Wives: Reassessing the Office of the First Lady.
Some historical first ladies have gotten political. Watson credits Edith Wilson with softening President Woodrow Wilson’s position on women’s suffrage, and Eleanor Roosevelt was a famously action-oriented first lady. But they are the exception, not the rule. The role didn’t evolve much until women began agitating for equal rights following the 1960s and '70s. Indeed, Betty Ford used the position to advocate for the now-dead Equal Rights Amendment.
Hillary Clinton found the first lady role to be challenging. She seemed to resent the "window dressing" role she would be asked to take on. Indeed, while her husband was governor of Arkansas, she continued her work as an attorney — an unusual move at the time.
She defended her decision to continue working, famously telling Time magazine she could have "stayed home, baked cookies and had teas" but opted to continue her professional career.
The magazine heard from women who derided the "smug bitchiness" of that quote or complained that women who stay home "hardly have the time" for cookie baking. But the quote didn’t really capture Hillary’s point; as Time magazine confessed last year, there was another half to the quote: "The work that I have done as a professional, a public advocate, has been aimed … to assure that women can make the choices, whether it’s full-time career, full-time motherhood or some combination."
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