Identity Politics Alive and Well.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/28/first.lady/index.html

most people would read that article and think how great it is. But not me. I'm happy that Indian Women are inspired, I guess. And happy that they no longer think they're ugly because of Michelle Obama. But the problem with that is it shows us that this world is still engaged in Identity Politics. People, the globe over, rarely judge people by what say or do or how they think. They judge you by who you are perceived to be. Michelle Obama allows these young women a world away to feel beautiful not because she is smart, funny or accomplished, but because she is the first lady and she has two daughters. Both of those things are out of her control. The message this article sends to me is that women are trying to make their way through the world passively, in terms of what other people judge them to be based on their looks. "Its OK to have dark skin", or its "OK to have two daughters" or "Its good if an ambitious harvard educated lawyer is interested in you". Women should be outraged by this idea.
But its not just women in India. Take a look at the most recent presidential campaign. The democratic party is traditionally one of highly educated lawyers. And the democratic party is also the one known for being friendly to minorities. Who were the two candidates from that party, a women and a black man, both minorities and both Ivy League educated lawyers. The republican party base has recently been: the military, big business and religion. Who were the three candidates for their nomination: John McCain (military family), Mitt Romney (2nd generation multi-millionaire) and Mike Huckabee (ordained minister). The point is not whether I found these candidates worthy, but the point is that it wouldn't really have mattered. We still view people for what they represent and/or look like and not who they are and what they say. When the young Indian Woman feel encouraged by Michelle Obama because of her stance on some important issue and not for how she looks, I'll start to be encouraged.