I think Steinem raised a really interesting point when she wrote that the barrier erected by sexism is not taken as seriously as the one erected by racism because "sexism is still confused with nature as racism once was; because anything that affects males is seen as more serious than anything that affects 'only' the female half of the human race; because children are still raised mostly by women (to put it mildly) so men especially tend to feel they are regressing to childhood when dealing with a powerful woman . . .and because there is still no 'right' way to be a woman in public power without being considered a you-know-what." I had never really thought about how being raised by women might make some men feel like they're being bossed around by their mothers to be around women in positions of authority, and I completely agree that women in politics have a really tough time striking a happy medium between strong enough to lead and likable enough to vote for. I think women lawyers face the same struggle: often the most successful women are those that seem to me (I'm ashamed to admit) the least friendly and most cold. Perhaps it's impossible to achieve success without completely shedding the "feminine" qualities of being friendly, etc.

You raise an interesting point, Anonymous, about the Goldilocks Phenomenon (successful women are either too warm or too cold but rarely just right). You might want to check out this article posted on Ms. JD awhile ago, which voices a similar complaint that "for women in the workplace, 'feminine' behavior is more associated with secretaries than with partners, and to differentiate themselves and project 'professionalism,' women are often forced to embrace the masculine paradigm of behavior to be taken seriously."