mamisma is a most interesting new word

How 'mamisma' can change politics
By Harriet Rubin

Is America ready to elect a female president? Of course we are. The most macho countries — Chile, Liberia, Germany — have recently elected women chief executives as symbols of change. So how can a female candidate in America tap the desire for change and avoid tripping on the stereotypes of gender prejudice? Can she appear presidential before we have a model of what female presidential power is?

Even the most powerful woman in politics can't yet hold her own against the most powerful man, it seems: When Bill and Hillary Clinton take a stage together, he makes her disappear, like a magician and his assistant. How then would she look on stage against Republican Sen. John McCain? She'll have to draw consistently on her "mamisma," not machismo. (After all, there are already too many alpha male Democrats in play.) And I'm not talking about machisma or female ferocity.

Mamisma is femininity defined by mature and maternal qualities. It lets a female candidate make men look like wimps while doing the taboo-dance, enticing people to fall in love with her.

Source:
usatoday.com
Publication Date:
1/29/2007
URL:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2007-01-29-oplede_x.htm