By Samantha McCarville
Just when I thought I was finally free from hearing about Sarah Palin every day, she publishes a book and the national media decides to talk about it constantly.

It makes me cringe to admit it, but sometimes I feel bad for Sarah Palin. Sure, for a lot of people (myself included) it’s not hard to disagree with Palin’s radical right nonsense. That’s ok. The reason I feel bad for Palin is the same reason I felt bad for Hillary Clinton and scores of other women: Palin just can’t get over the gender bias. The allegations about the McCain campaign’s treatment of Palin in her book, Going Rogue, have only made things worse.

It’s been over a year, and I still hear some Republicans complaining that Palin lost them the election because she was a woman, not because people didn’t agree with the McCain/Palin campaign.

While I’d rather my little sister and younger cousins look up to Nancy Pelosi or Hillary Clinton, it’s good to have a female conservative role model. Seeing women in leadership roles is really beneficial for young girls because it gives them something to aspire toward.

It’s not just about politics though. Having good role models in various fields for girls is vital, especially considering all the barriers they’ll face later. Young girls are told, either implicitly or explicitly, that there are certain careers and interests that are acceptable for them. Of course, young boys face the same thing. However, it seems that young girls face more limitations on their career aspirations than their male counterparts.

A recent study by researchers at the Northern Illinois University attempted to explain why boys seem to do better on standardized science and math tests than girls. The teams spent several days monitoring high school science classes and interviewing the instructors.

The problem might be that young girls don’t feel like they can do as well, so they don’t. When interviewed, the teachers claimed they thought both genders had equal aptitude towards science, but then they were asked to name students who they felt could excel in a science career. The majority of students picked, about 70 percent, were male. Later, the teachers were asked to explain why they chose the students they did. Those that picked male students described them as “smart” and “intelligent,” but those who picked female students noted they were “hard-working.”

Yes, these young ladies might be hard-workers, but they are also intelligent. Using different labels to describe high achieving students because of their gender only helps to encourage stereotyping.

Too often young girls have their achievements attributed to factors other than their intelligence, which only reinforces negative perceptions they have about themselves. These opinions are really driven home when girls are told that they are only fit for certain types of jobs, like being a nurse or a stay-at-home mom, but nothing else.

Society has come a long way in the past century. There are now more opportunities for people no matter what their gender or race. But a lack of confidence in themselves and strong role models to look up to can hinder peoples’s aspirations and beliefs in themselves, especially young girls. Over time, hopefully we can help everyone reach their full potential. (Dec. 3)