I believe that Shakespeare was correct in some ways on his
views of women in power, but not 100 percent. It is true that many women, in
order to gain authority and respect, must not act like so much of a woman and
more like a man, as shown in the preview for The Iron Lady. Through the preview, she is shown to have become
like a man, and gain respect the way that men do, through their words and
actions. A man, in order to gain power and respect, must act like the tough
man; yet at the same time, they must act like a proper gentleman at the same
time. People respect the power that a man that acts tough presents, but they do
not want it to consume him, so they must also have the politeness and delicacy
that the modern day gentleman is shown to have. Women are the same way. It seems
like in order for a woman to gain the same respect that a man can have, they
need to act the same, thus losing their femininity in the process. I believe
that in the modern world today, women should not have to act like a man in
order to gain respect and authority. Many women gain a lot of respect by acting
like women should, for example, Oprah Winfrey does not act like a man at all,
and still has a lot of respect throughout the country. And still, Oprah acts
very different than men of today: in today’s world and economy, men would not
simply hand out gifts like whales and school districts. However, it took Oprah
a long time to get to where she is today. If a woman is “Iron” such as the
woman portrayed in the trailer, Margaret Thatcher, was, then respect can be
earned a lot more quickly than acting as a woman does. I believe that in today’s
world, people are becoming a lot more sensitive than they were back in
Shakespeare’s time, or even forty years ago. People are now focusing on the
person as a whole, and what they would bring to the position that they are
attempting to earn or receive. Today, it’s a lot easier for a woman to be who
she really is and still gain respect than it was back in the older times, when
they had to portray the emotions and strength of a man, and thereby being
somebody that they really weren’t, and in a sense, losing themselves to power.
Enjoyed your response to the writing prompt. I found it interesting that you mentioned the challenges that are peculiar to men in places of power: exhibiting a powerful presence while maintaining a sense of gentlemanly decorum. You also had some interesting insights into examples of powerful modern women who've maintained their "femininity" (Oprah, etc.). It may be that modern society is becoming more sensitive to assessing people in terms of their character, and not basing their judgements primarily on issues of sex or gender. There are, however, some vestiges of the "old" mentality that still seem alive and well.
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