‘Maryspeak’ Not Loud Enough for Some
Mary Matalin, deputy campaign manager for President Bush, may well employ her brand of “Maryspeak” on the job (“Just Ask Mary,” April 20).
Calling the President’s son “Junior” and addressing her male assistant as “stud-muffin” may seem acts of boldness to the white men in dark suits she works with, but her boldness soon proves itself shallow.
When “Maryspeak” extends itself to statements such as “If you don’t respond to (chauvinism), it’s not a problem,” and “I think women ask for stuff sometimes when they butt themselves into meetings they’re not ready for,” Matalin goes beyond simply being cloying. Coming from a woman of her stature, statements such as these which diminish the seriousness of sexism are nothing short of dangerous.
How unfortunate that a woman could not bring a greater conscientiousness to such visible position. Then again, perhaps it’s chauvinistic of me to expect conscientiousness of Matalin simply because she is a woman.
SUSAN KANGA
Los Angeles
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