Margaret Thatcher; A feminist role model

Despite often being mocked and vilified in the press, the feminist movement is a well intention one. Unlike what many in certain circles believe, it does seek dominance over their male counterparts, but rather equality with them. Likewise, they have not gone ‘too far’ as many claim; women are still criminally underrepresented in the higher echelons of companies in every country, bar a few Scandinavian exceptions. Likewise, women in politics and other areas public life face far more scrutiny and criticism than their male colleagues. Take for example Sarah Millican, who was mercilessly mocked by the media for the attire she chose to wear at the Brit Awards. Yet Ms. Millican is a comedienne, whose fame has nothing to do with how she looks. Events such as these show that negative stereotypes still exist with the world today, and far from having gone too far, the feminist movement still has quite a lot of work to do.

Yet it is to groups continually detriment that they continue to neglect Margaret Thatcher as a role model. It is shameful that such a woman, who reached the highest ranks in the most male-dominated profession in the world, should be scorned and shunned by a movement that seeks the advancement of the female sex. The problem lies with that fact that Thatcher, despite her gender, has herself not a feminist; in fact she dislike the movement. Many have described her as ‘climbing the glass ceiling, only to pull up the ladder from underneath here. She was a staunch conservative in a time when it was the liberal cause which aimed to advance the status of women. Her policies fought against the poor and unions, having a knock-on effect of lowering the wages of women, particularly those in unskilled positions.

Yet if Feminism truly aims for equality between the sexes, then none of the above should really matter. Because, for true equality to exist, then women must be allowed chose the political beliefs in the same way as men. Yet feminists almost all are of a liberal standpoint and thus are biased towards those who share their views. Thus Hilary Clinton or Michelle Obama are often put forward as women to aspire to. And while both these women are very admirable and incredibly intelligent, much of their popularity has to do with their husbands. This is particularly true of Hilary, who despite being a fantastic Secretary of State and now favourite for the Presidency, owes much of her popularity to the fact that she is married to Bill Clinton, a hugely popular president in his time. Thatcher on the other hand, managed to achieve it all on her own.  Her husband Denis, while a rich businessman, had no political aspiration of his won, thus leaving it to the Iron Lady to do it by herself.  Just because Thatcher was not a feminist does not mean she cannot be a role model to the association. Her achievements are still of a monumental nature. Not only had did she rise to the highest political office in Britain, she did it with the Tories, an extremely traditional and anti-women party. Had she been with Labour, she would no doubt be loved held in the highest esteem. Instead, she was a Conservative, and thus is hated.

Make no mistake; Margaret Thatcher was herself no feminist. But this cannot be allowed to exclude her from the ranks of feminist icons. Were we to continue with this line of reasoning, there would be very little people we could aspire towards. Nelson Mandela could no longer be a Peaceful figure, having created MK, the military wing of the African National Congress. Thatcher should be viewed as a role model, to prove that no matter your sex or beliefs, one can rise to the very top if they work hard enough.