Wash Post: G20 Conference: Old, sexist traditions die hard for political wives...

[Captain Hilts]

WP: The First Wives Snub

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/22/AR2009092204127.html

...

For the past 60 years, political spouses have been trying to get off -- and stay off -- the belittling housewife track.

In 1985, when first lady Nancy Reagan went to Geneva for a Ronald Reagan-Mikhail Gorbachev summit, she organized a tea with her Soviet counterpart, Raisa Gorbachev. The overarching idea was that she would present a hospitable image of America -- an important form of diplomacy at the time -- while her husband was talking Star Wars. "That actually became influential in the way Americans understood the Cold War," says Julian Zelizer, a political historian at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

...

But even the most independent-minded spouses can't shake some traditions even if they wanted to. They continue to be charged with such hearth-and-home concerns as dinner menus, china patterns and just how to make the White House Easter Egg Roll exciting.

On the long list of traditions upheld by the East Wing, one of the most curious might be the "spouses program." That is not so much an official title as it is a kind of bureaucratic shorthand for the series of luncheons, walking tours and performances that the partners of world leaders typically attend during the G-8, the G-20 and any other random occasions when heads of state gather and their mates come along because protocol demands it.

...

Yet for all the group photos, the friendly chatter among accomplished ladies and the serious conversations about women's rights, the spouses program still has the ring of a tradition that might as well date from the era of Jane Austen when, after dinner, men retired to the library for cigars and cognac and a discussion of world events -- and the ladies went into the parlor to talk about needlepoint.

[supernova]

1. And it's increasingly not just First *Wives* anymore

Who is Angela Merkel's spouse?

Dennis Thatcher, anyone?

I don't mind if activities are arranged for the SOs of heads of state; it seems dumb to expect them to just hang out at their respective hotels. But I think they need to be less "ladies who lunch" focused and more on social issues, perhaps a charity job or two.

edit: Actually it would be a great time to be introduced to the history and culture of the area where they are meeting, perhaps getting together with some service orgs in the area.

It would make the G20 less ivory-tower appearing.

[Captain Hilts]

2. Yes, it's a tough call, isn't it? I think back to the Teheran Conference where there were NO women

and at the Thanksgiving celebration, Sarah Churchill was the only woman there, so Winston asked FDR's military attache, Gen. "Pa" Watson to dance, and they did to the delight of the crowd. Watson was a huge man and, evidently, he led.

[supernova]

3. Ha, Thanks for the story

I hadn't heard it before.

:D

[XemaSab]

8. A service focus is an interesting idea

especially if there's some coordination beforehand, so that all the spouses can go back to their respective countries and continue with what they've learned.

[Captain Hilts]

9. ...or give us some ideas on how to do things. nt

[Clio the Leo]

4. I hope Michelle takes all of the better halves to a soup kitchen tomorrow....

.... and she teaches them all the way the wife of a 21st century leader should operate.

Seriously, I wanna see Carla with some rubber gloves and a ladle in her hand!

[Captain Hilts]

5. Yeah. nt

[Phx_Dem]

6. Then maybe they shouldn't go along with the sexist traditions.

If they don't care, neither do I.

[Captain Hilts]

7. It's a tough call. It sounds like Michelle has made the best out of an awkward situation.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

11. "Awkward" really is the key term, isn't it?

I, for one, wouldn't know what to do with myself if I were Michelle Obama.

[Phx_Dem]

12. I just completely changed my mind about this, after reading the

descripton of the FABULOUS events Michelle has planned for the spouses. This in't some "sewing circle" or drudgery where the wives are expected clean up after the men, or made to leave the room after dinner so the men can smoke. These are simply events intended to entertain and maybe even educate the spouses while the heads of state conduct business. Obviously the spouses (male or female) are not invited to the business meetings because they aren't elected heads of state.

As far as I'm concerned the spouses got the better end of the deal here.

Rock on Michelle!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

10. Well, not being elected officials themselves, spouses really shouldn't be talking policy.

And while I don't dispute the idea that the tea parties are antiquated (all tea parties, for that matter), I have to wonder - what else would you really have them do? Even the idea of having these esteemed women doing charity work seems... off. It's a really shitty position to be in with no good solutions.

[Inuca]

13. I think that the spouses

of either sex should simply stay at home for events of this type. Period.