Interview with Michael Kimmel
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Marianne Schnall interviews Michael Kimmel, one of the leading researchers and writers on men and masculinity in the world today. Distinguished professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Stony Brook University, Kimmel directs the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities and is the author of more than 20 books on gender issues. Kimmel offers his insight on how gender will play into the upcoming presidential election given that there are three female candidates in the race. He also shares his thoughts on how the climate for women candidates has changed since Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid, why it is so important for men to support women candidates and gender equality, and the differences in how men and women view the idea of electing a woman to the Oval Office: “I think most men who will support one of these women will tell you, ‘I am not supporting her because she is a woman. I’m supporting her because she is the best person for the job.’ However, I read that as relatively good news. Because they are also not going to say, ‘I am supporting her in spite of the fact that she is a woman.’”
We’ve denied women the opportunity to show how competent they are. So what’s exciting about the possibility of supporting women is to make the case that this is really about content and not form. This is about [how] these women have the best ideas and the best policies and the most experience, and they are clearly the most qualified to lead our country. And we have been doing ourselves, as a nation, an enormous disservice by denying women the opportunity that other countries have figured out how to do. That we have been denying ourselves these opportunities for such a long time that we haven’t even known that we’ve been like trying to run with one foot.
Marianne Schnall is a widely published writer and interviewer whose writings and interviews have appeared in a variety of media outlets including O, The Oprah Magazine, TIME.com, In Style, CNN.com, EW.com, the Women’s Media Center, and many others. Marianne is a featured blogger at The Huffington Post and a contributor to the nationally syndicated NPR radio show, 51 Percent: The Women’s Perspective. Schnall is the founder and Executive Director of Feminist.com, a leading women’s website and nonprofit organization. For nearly 20 years, Feminist.com has been fostering awareness, education, and activism for people all across the world.
Marianne’s latest book What Will It Take to Make A Woman President?: Conversations About Women, Leadership and Power, features interviews with politicians, public officials, thought leaders, writers, artists, and activists in an attempt to discover the obstacles that have held women back and what needs to change in order to elect a woman into the White House.