Women and Power Summary

"Why are women still treated as outsiders to power?" Understanding the roots of this bias may hold the key to dismantling long-standing structures of inequality.

1: Women and Power in Ancient Greece and Rome

The foundation of Western notions of power can be traced back to classical Greece and Rome, where women holding power was often seen as unnatural or dangerous. Greek dramas frequently depicted women in positions of authority as monstrous or overly masculine figures who disrupted the natural order.

For example, in Aeschylus’s "Agamemnon," Clytemnestra rules in her husband's absence but ultimately murders him, leading to her own death at the hands of her children. This reinforces the idea that women in power bring chaos. Even Athena, an esteemed warrior goddess, was depicted as less of a woman due to her virginity and masculine traits.

These portrayals were not accidental; they reflected broader societal views. Power itself was defined in masculine terms, meaning women were effectively excluded. These cultural precedents set a template that persists in subtle ways today.

Examples

• Clytemnestra from "Agamemnon" is described using male-oriented language like "androboulon," signifying masculine thinking.
• Athena, despite her status, was framed as an exception to womanhood because of her unrelatable virgin-warrior image.
• Female power in narratives often led to catastrophic outcomes, as seen with Clytemnestra's downfall.

2: Women Silenced in Public Spaces

The suppression of women's voices has ancient origins. Works like Homer’s "Odyssey" reveal an embedded cultural hostility to women speaking publicly, a theme that echoes through time.

In "The Odyssey," Telemachus orders his mother Penelope to stop speaking about the bard’s somber tune, demanding she focus on domestic tasks instead. This moment asserts that public discourse is a realm reserved for men. Ancient comedies like Aristophanes’s "The Assemblywomen" also mocked the idea of women participating in governance by portraying them as frivolous and incapable of serious speech.

Such examples illustrate how institutions of classical antiquity marginalized women’s speech while ridiculing their potential roles in public life.

Examples

• Penelope in "The Odyssey" being told by Telemachus to leave matters of speech to men.
• Ovid’s "Metamorphoses" features women losing their voices, like Io, who is transformed into a mute cow.
• "The Assemblywomen" ridicules women leaders by showing them obsessing over trivial topics.

3: Public Speaking Was Considered Inherently Male

In ancient Rome, the skills of oratory were not just skills—they were synonymous with male identity. The Roman ideal of the citizen was defined as a man who was eloquent and skilled in public speaking.

Cultural and pseudo-scientific beliefs reinforced this association. Masculine voices were tied to courage and leadership, while high-pitched female voices were dismissed as weak or even harmful. Texts from the era suggested that women's speech was inherently incapable of carrying the weight of authority.

For women to speak publicly was to step outside their assigned role. Any woman who could “speak like a man” was often derided, ostracized, or classified as an androgynous anomaly.

Examples

• Roman philosopher Dio Chrysostom theorized that if men spoke with women’s higher-pitched voices, societal collapse would be imminent.
• Valerius Maximus’ accounts of women like Maesia, dismissing her courtroom defense as her having a “man’s nature.”
• The Greek term "muthos" used in "The Odyssey" reserved authoritative speech for men, separating it from shallow “chatter” associated with women.

4: Women’s Voices Were Allowed Only in Restricted Contexts

In the few instances women achieved recognition for public speaking, it was typically within restrictive frameworks. Ancient texts often framed women’s voices as appropriate only when discussing women’s issues or when acting as victims.

Consider Hortensia, who spoke against war taxes levied on women. While her speech was applauded, her ability to speak publicly was excused as being representative of women’s interests, not broader society. Similarly, the narratives of Lucretia and Philomela show female characters allowed to raise their voices only in circumstances of personal tragedy.

These examples reinforce a long-standing pattern where women’s voices existed exclusively within narrow, “appropriate” domains.

Examples

• Hortensia’s permitted speech against a women’s war tax.
• Lucretia’s voice in accusing her rapist and declaring her suicide.
• Philomela’s punishment of tongue removal in Ovid’s "Metamorphoses."

5: Women Speaking in Public Still Seen as Unusual

Even as societal dynamics have evolved, women speaking in public remains an anomaly. Cultural norms often treat their presence as a deviation from the male model rather than a norm in its own right.

Figures like Elizabeth I shaped their rhetoric to address these biases, famously claiming to have the “heart of a king” despite her “feeble woman’s body.” Similarly, contemporary anthologies of speeches rarely feature women, and when they do, the scope is often limited to stereotypical “women’s issues.”

Even iconic speeches, like Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” have been romantically rewritten over time, further highlighting the barriers to women’s unfiltered expression in history.

Examples

• Elizabeth I’s Tilbury speech invoking male authority.
• Sojourner Truth’s rewritten 1851 address reflecting Southern tropes.
• Anthologies of speeches featuring women only in limited categories.

6: Vilification and Silencing of Women in Modern Policymaking

Despite progress, modern female politicians grapple with patterns of repression and thinly veiled hostility. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s silencing in the Senate serves as a clear example of these tactics at play.

Women’s vocal participation in public office remains fraught with difficulties. Beyond the explicit silencing Warren faced, women are heckled in parliaments worldwide or actively unplugged from debates, as in Afghanistan.

These dynamics show how institutional biases persist in significant venues of power.

Examples

• Warren silenced on the Senate floor while reading Coretta Scott King’s letter.
• Physical silencing tactics in Afghanistan’s parliament.
• Ongoing heckling of female MPs in the British House of Commons.

7: Attacks on Women’s Voices Go Beyond Content

Public discourse often targets women for the act of speaking itself—not for their opinions or content. Abuse often takes the form of threats and slurs that aim to silence them entirely.

Social media platforms are a battleground for gendered hate speech. The author recounts threats involving violent language designed to undermine a woman's right to speak. This dehumanizing treatment harks back to classical tales like Philomela’s.

Rather than engaging with ideas, society often reverts to silencing tactics that reinforce historically entrenched discrimination.

Examples

• Twitter threats against women demanding silence or violence.
• Abusive language targeting female academics and writers online.
• Punch cartoon spotlighting women’s silenced workplace ideas: “That’s an excellent suggestion, Miss Triggs. Perhaps one of the men here would like to make it.”

8: The Visual Stereotype of Power Remains Male

Today’s imagery of power still defaults to male conventions, forcing women to conform. From pantsuits to voice modulation, women are often encouraged—or required—to masculinize their image to be taken seriously.

Even Hillary Clinton and Angela Merkel, powerful figures, relied on neutral fashion to reinforce authority. Media portrayals, such as Melissa McCarthy’s satire of former press secretary Sean Spicer, show how feminized depictions are used to strip authority.

This underscores the need for new paradigms of power that don’t rely on traditionally male codes.

Examples

• Angela Merkel’s preference for pantsuits as a “uniform” of power.
• Margaret Thatcher’s vocal lessons to lower her pitch for authority.
• Trump’s discomfort with feminized impersonations in satire.

9: Redefining Power to Include Women Fully

Power as it’s currently understood makes it hard for women to participate. If power remains something to own or accumulate, it will always exclude certain groups.

Instead, it’s time to redefine power in terms of collaboration and efficacy. Women-led movements like Black Lives Matter highlight the kind of influence that bypasses traditional hierarchies. Power shouldn't always align with status or titles, but with meaningful impact.

This shift opens doors for women to lead authentically, free of outdated stereotypes.

Examples

• Black Lives Matter founders’ achievements despite low visibility.
• Rwandan parliament’s prominence of women despite questions of actual influence.
• Shifting power’s image from dominance to collaboration.

Takeaways

1. Challenge Stereotypes: Question the default imagery of power in media and daily life. Acknowledge when these depictions favor male-centric norms.
2. Amplify Women’s Voices: In meetings or social settings, champion women’s ideas and ensure their contributions aren’t ignored.
3. Redefine Power: Advocate for a new definition of power that values collective impact and inclusivity over traditional hierarchies.