Obama's Foursome Finally Includes a Woman

October 26, 2009

The 44th president has played 24 rounds of golf (who's counting?) since he came to office. How many women have been invited along with the golfer in chief? One. This weekend, President Obama's chief domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes became the first woman to play golf with the president.

Last week, Obama sounded pretty enlightened about modern gender roles. He said that after he had kids, he realized that Michelle should not be solely responsible for running the house just because she's a woman. But it seems that Obama has been having a hard time translating these enlightened ideas to sports, as he typically plays basketball and golf with men only.

Hanging out socially with the boss is always good for career advancement, and it's a bit disappointing that the president was perpetuating the idea that these traditionally all-male activities are still for for members of the "boys club." Hopefully any of the sporty women on staff will now feel welcome to play in these very visible games.

Have you ever felt excluded from activities (social or work-related) because you're a woman?

Source: Getty

14 Comments

mermei 3 years 29 weeks

The fear of sexual harassment charges is an issue here, I think. In grad school, male advisors would go get a drink with their male students - even one on one - and it's not a problem. Invite your female student, and it could be Unwanted Sexual Attention. Meanwhile, all of us girls working on interesting research never felt like we had an in into the old boys club. Same thing in the working world now - there are real boundaries for how friendly male and female colleagues will be. (I'm an expat in China at the moment, so I might just be feeling this more acutely than I would in the US - here I get invited to the banquets, but I am sometimes not let in on the baijiu drinking that follows and lets the men bond. As anyone who's had baijiu before knows, that is both a blessing and a curse).

spacekatgal 3 years 29 weeks

Totally agree with Janneth! You should go kick his badonkadonk, Yoga. When he loses, tell him, "Man up, sweetheart."

bellaressa 3 years 29 weeks

I love Melody, she is very positive and does a great job within her real and her volunteerism.

janneth 3 years 29 weeks

Yogaforlife, take lessons with the golf pro and go get your dad!

janneth 3 years 29 weeks

The reason it's controversial is the career advancement thing. You can't deny it that hanging with the boss and other biggies can impact your career. But even now so few women play golf. That is the sport to play for high school/college girls who want to go into the business world.

janneth 3 years 29 weeks

The reason it's controversial is the career advancement thing. You can't deny it that hanging with the boss and other biggies can impact your career.But even now so few women play golf. That is the sport to play for high school/college girls who want to go into the business world.

GlowingMoon 3 years 29 weeks

Cool.

GlowingMoon 3 years 29 weeks

Cool.

3 years 29 weeks

I think its ridiculous that people are trying to make a big deal of this. I only go shopping with women, does that make me sexist? It's silly.

CaterpillarGirl 3 years 29 weeks

nice pants......

CaterpillarGirl 3 years 29 weeks

nice pants......

Yogaforlife 3 years 29 weeks

My father believed that girls shouldn't play sports. So I was always the weak, unathletic girl in gym class because my father refused to let me participate in anything. It drove me crazy because the only thing that mattered to him was sports. He played in softball/baseball/bowling/golf/horseshoe leagues like 5 days a week and that's all he cared about and I hated that I couldn't do anything that he had an interest in. (I played violin growing up and he never once saw me play in a concert because the school's three concerts a year occurred on bowling night).I was so resentful. At family reunions, all the kids (boys and girls) would play softball and my dad would play with them while making me watch from the sidelies. I seriously was the only kid not allowed to play.Now I'm lucky because I have a job that encourages me to learn to golf so I can take clients golfing and that really drives my dad up the wall that someday I'll be better at it than him.

Yogaforlife 3 years 29 weeks

My father believed that girls shouldn't play sports. So I was always the weak, unathletic girl in gym class because my father refused to let me participate in anything. It drove me crazy because the only thing that mattered to him was sports. He played in softball/baseball/bowling/golf/horseshoe leagues like 5 days a week and that's all he cared about and I hated that I couldn't do anything that he had an interest in. (I played violin growing up and he never once saw me play in a concert because the school's three concerts a year occurred on bowling night). I was so resentful. At family reunions, all the kids (boys and girls) would play softball and my dad would play with them while making me watch from the sidelies. I seriously was the only kid not allowed to play. Now I'm lucky because I have a job that encourages me to learn to golf so I can take clients golfing and that really drives my dad up the wall that someday I'll be better at it than him.

spacekatgal 3 years 29 weeks

Obama can go golfing with Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh for all I care. I think it's unfair to hold his personal life up to politically correct obloquy. Besides, he has no record whatsoever of sexism.

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