I understand that the term I use in the headline is problematic and may cause offense to some -- rest assured it is not a word I feel comfortable using in my personal life, even with my guy friends when we are talking about attractive women of a certain age.
However, the selection of Sarah Palin to be John McCain's running mate has only reinforced what has become a major cultural fascination with the women of my generation (the post-boomer, "Gen X" generation if you must) and their sexual, social, and political power.
That McCain's pick reeks of the kind of tokenism that seemed shallow 24 years ago -- I mean, even Gerry Ferraro admitted that she was only chosen as Mondale's running mate because she was a woman -- is obvious. The comparisons to Dan Quayle and Spiro Agnew are relevant on a number of levels, but perhaps the best recent political pick we can equate Sarah Palin to is that of Clarence Thomas.
But what the pick really reflects to me is how American women between the ages of (roughly) 22 and 45 have emerged as a primary cultural obsession. This generation of women (as well as their older sisters) are often seen by the media as the so-called "Hillary voters" this year, but in the 2000 and 2004 elections they were referred to as "security moms."
What has happened since 2004, however, is that our culture now views these women not just as political targets - we want your vote - but there is now a real sexualization of these women. Call it the "Sex and the City" generation if you want -- but there are dozens of examples of sexualized and DESIRED females of a certain age in our current cultural soup. The genre of pornography referred to in my headline might be below the surface for many of you, but it has emerged in recent years to rival "teen" as a label for porn stars (and has extended the careers of many adult film performers). Television shows like "Desperate Housewives" and "Weeds" (the main character's specialized strain of marijuana was called "milfweed") feature these women as both agents of power as well as objects of desire. We have become obsessed with the children of attractive movie stars and celebrities -- we still debate how hot Britney is after the kids, or marvel at how Angelina Jolie can still remain a pre-eminent sex symbol despite being a mother several times over.
I don't personally believe this is inherently a good or bad thing. On the one had, I think it's a positive step that we have not restricted the category of "sexually desirable women" to women under the age of 25. On the other, any time women are sexualized or asked/forced/obligated to use their sexuality to gain power, it's problematic in ways that could (and have) filled up dissertations. Twenty years ago, it would not have been uncommon to see a woman of 45 years of age on a magazine cover -- but not looking like they just got out of (or are just getting into) bed.
McCain -- and this is NOT a political analysis, merely an off-the-cuff social take -- is tapping into a current zeitgeist that finds this kind of woman fascinating. Sarah Palin herself will be the subject of intense (and I'm sure in many cases unfair) scrutiny -- not the least of which will be her very public decision to have a child even though the child was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome. The issue of reproductive choice has never before so closely been associated with a candidate's personal biography, and it will renew that debate. (For the record, I'm confident that Palin's story is not going to change anyone's mind on the matter of choice -- if anything, the pro-choice crowd gets a chance to applaud a woman's CHOICE to have a baby that is differently abled, while pointing out that as Governor of a state, part of a dual-income household, and likely with excellent health insurance, her choice to keep her baby is very, very different from a similar choice faced by women of more modest means).
But beyond her reproductive history (which really shouldn't be anyone's business), we also have her past as a beauty queen -- photos of her in evening wear and bathing attire are likely to follow -- and her own personality will be coded in language that will undoubtedly reflect more on her gender than her character. Really, can you imagine a male VP candidate being called "spunky"?
Too, Governor Palin may or may not appeal to the older "Hillary" voters -- the Baby Boomer women, who might see in her the younger, more sexually vibrant woman that catches their husband's eye. What is it with McCain and former beauty queens, anyway? Has McCain morphed into the male porn actor Dave Cummings -- an ex-military guy in his 60s who "hosts" a video series featuring cheating "wives"? Is there a way in which Governor Palin, who in her press conference seemed more cheerleader and loyal supporter than trusted independent counsel, can assert herself as being something more than an attractive appendage who doesn't know what the VP does on a day-to-day basis?
McCain has yet (that I've seen) to answer the question of what role Governor Palin would play in his administration. I would guess it would be something about ethics reform and energy, though as many of us have already learned, her positions on that are compromised and/or at the extreme right wing of political thought. Even were she to get elected, she would be working with a Democratic congress that would be unlikely to concede much power to her, and the Democrats in Washington are bound to be a bit different from the Democrats in Alaska.
But the real role she is playing, I think, is to function as a lightning rod for our own cultural "issues" with the sexuality of mothers. Is it a distraction? Yes....but it's a compelling one that many people will need to take time to process, at the same time processing whether or not this woman is qualified to be Vice-President.
While some women voters might try to see part of themselves in Sarah Palin, there are a lot of male voters who have also been conditioned to see part of themselves (a very private part) in women like Sarah Palin. Let's face it -- not all mothers of five look as conventionally attractive as she is (the Times actually said "She looks a lot like Tina Fey"). And choosing a good-looking former beauty queen -- regardless of her accomplishments as a governor, good or bad -- is a VERY different proposition than choosing a post-menopausal woman, or a more typical mother of five who probably doesn't have the time or resources to keep in tip-top shape on hunting/fishing trips and personal jogs every day.
All around us, this is the year of the MILF. Something in our culture needs to represent these women as object both of self-determined power still under the auspices of the male gaze. It's a complex and troubling phenomenon that has now boldly been introduced into the political discourse. As long as Governor Palin has national attention, her sexuality and the "desirability" of herself and women like her are likely to be a significant, if subconscious, forces at work in how she is represented, discussed, and evaluated as a political candidate.