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By Sally E. Smith
For close to a year, many of this year’s presidential
candidates have been pounding the campaign trail and debating until
they’re hoarse, yet many in the electorate are just now sitting up and
taking notice. The flip of the calendar to 2008, combined with
earlier-than-usual primaries, has energized voters while stymieing
political pundits. Polls are unreliable, voters are largely undecided
about which candidate to support, and the clock is ticking. Iowa, New
Hampshire, Wyoming, Michigan, Nevada, South Carolina, Florida… and then
it’s off to the races on February 5, when voters in 23 states will
participate in what’s been dubbed, “Super Duper Tuesday.”
This year’s primaries and general election are electrifying
and historic for so many reasons. This is the first primary season where
an African American candidate and a female candidate are considered not
only viable, but are the front runners for their party’s nomination. In
addition, it’s been 60 years since neither an incumbent President nor an
incumbent Vice President ran for our nation’s highest office.
Although political pundits have been wrong in many of their
prognostications, they’re probably right that women voters will
determine the presidential nominees for each party. We’ll most likely
also be the deciding factor in who runs our local governments, state
governments, and Congress. Yet, although plus-size women make up a
sizeable voting bloc (pun intended!), candidates will not seek our
endorsement, nor will they address critical issues that affect our lives
– such as size discrimination in employment, education, access to public
accommodations, and access to health care.
If, as a community, we were to make a candidate’s
commitment to size-related issues a litmus test, anti-discrimination
legislation would be signed into law in the blink of an eye. That’s the
potential of our combined power. Unfortunately, our community isn’t
politically organized, and many plus-sized women would gladly give up
their proverbial membership cards to join the club to which our thinner
sisters belong.
The bad news is that, regardless of our numbers, we’re as
invisible in the political process as we are to the advertising and
media industries. The good news is that, as individual plus-size women,
we can make ourselves seen and heard.
The first step is to stand up and be counted during the
2008 election. Whether we’re first-time voters or lifelong voters,
whether we support Candidate A or Candidate Z, 2008 will be a banner
year for women voters. For those of us who are so inclined, it’s not too
late to volunteer to work on behalf of a candidate – even if that
candidate is running for the school board. Planting the seeds of size
awareness early in a politician’s career and helping to nurture that
career will ultimately bear fruit.
For those of us who are passionate about issues affecting
plus-size women – or any issue, for that matter – running for local
office can give us the opportunity to both promote our agendas and to
become role models for other plus-size women and girls.
Ultimately, it is up to each one of us to make our own
voices heard in our towns and states – and ultimately, to decide the
course of our great nation.
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