War of the Worlds

Here's a fun little project for any of the skeptics out there. You know who you are, those who think the world can't possibly be as gendered as we present here, or that gendered experiences and reactions simply aren't as "real" as we (I) think. Go to Google and type "lawyer in office." Then go to Images.

What do you see? 

NARY A WOMAN TO BE FOUND. Striking, isn't it?

You see pictures like this:

And this:

This:

And this:

(what was he thinking?)

In fact, you have to sort through forty-two images of lawyers, including this guy before you get to an image of a female lawyer:

(hilarious, but not a lawyer)

The image one finds (finally) is a stock image from Google of a model posing as a lawyer. I don't know the algorithms associated with Google content, nor the inner workings of the interwebs. I do know that Google is so ubiquitous that its name has become a verb (thank you Dane Cook).  As such, it is a quick, albeit superficial, indicator of the modern zeitgeist with regard to a given topic.

Why is it that the collective consciousness resists so tenaciously the idea of a powerful, educated woman?

I did the above Google search yesterday when two of my worlds came crashing together, with predictably messy results. Sprout got sick around noon, and couldn't go back to school. I had client meetings all afternoon, it was too late to cancel. Husband was mostly free, but had a mandatory meeting at 1400, expected to last an hour. I rearranged my schedule so that I had between 1400 and 1500[1] free. Sounds like clockwork, right?

Except it wasn't.

My 1330 ran long, which resulted in Husband barging in on a client meeting toting Sprout and a diaper bag full of animal crackers and Matchbox cars. Client, rather senior and high-ranking, was obviously discomfited. That client meeting ran long, had another client walk in, and Husband didn't get back to pick up Sprout until well after I had seen two other (1500 and 1530) clients with Sprout in office. Let me tell you this, you have never practiced law until you have been required to practice law over the sound of Snow White warbling that "some day [her] prince will come."[2]

The above scenario is not one, I am sure, that inspired confidence in my clients. Nor, does it burnish my reputation as a competent professional. Mainly because this is not the image one conjures when thinking of an "attorney." Thus, my search for images of a lawyer- I wanted to see if in one,  just one, there was a kid on the couch.

Our worlds compete for our attention, for our energies. The more that we are required to give to one sphere, the greater the collateral damage to our credibility in the other.  The extent of the collateral damage is, if not unique to the female experience,  certainly more pronounced. To the extent that one of our roles extends into, or boils over onto, another, we are seen as less competent, less able to handle the requirements placed on us. The reaction is almost that it is expected that we are unable to maintain the required separation. It is expected that the roles will conflict.

Take, for instance Rick Santorum's recent comment with regard to Sarah Palin. I am not a Palin apologist by any means, but Santorum's comment illustrated the differing impact of children on professional credibility.[3] [4] Santorum, in an effort to seem understanding as to why Palin did not attend a conservative conference, said:

"I don’t live in Alaska and I’m not the mother to all these kids and I don’t have other responsibilities that she has."

Assphinctersayswhat? Santorum, in fact, has seven children. So, I suppose that says something about the division of labor in the Santorum household. His decidedly unenlightened approach can't be any surprise, however, given that he already gave us this gem.

The individual roles we undertake are too large and unwieldy to keep them from interfering with each other. But when the roles do conflict, women are judged, and we judge ourselves, to be less than competent. It doesn't make sense.

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[1] 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. for you civilian types

[2] which never sounded dirty until I typed it just then.

[3] Especially among blockheads.

[4] Unfortunately, blockheads are often (by gender and racial default) in positions of power.

Pictures of lawyers from the following sites respectively, and they're probably very nice people: http://forfrylaw.com/; http://www.autoinjurylaw.com/; http://www.ralexanderlawfirm.com/;http://www.parosweb.gr/tritslaw/

Postscript: for a further fun little exercise, try searching "United States Marine." 87 images, 12 pages until the first female.