Maggie Thatcher and the Feminists

April 10, 2013 — 5 Comments

Known far and wide for her ability to upstage or even handbag opposition, Margaret Thatcher was nobody’s feminist. She was a power broker who knew where and how to use her influence to the greatest potential. While the feminist movement was bootstrapping Mrs. Thatcher was where she had always been, right in the middle of the good old Tory boys. Her breaking not only of the glass ceiling but of the snooty Tory party preference for aristocratic leaders showed command of political power matched by very few others in history.
She went from a grocery store apartment to Oxford on scholarship. Initiative was her middle name. She created the science of spin doctoring, but not as it is used now. She refined her image to make sure her clear core values were expressed with precision. She was a political Amazon with a mission to reform her chaotic nation. There was no stopping Mrs. Thatcher.

As time passes feminism will have to give Margaret Thatcher her due for proactively advancing the possibilities for women. Like QE II, she had that purse on her arm wherever she went. She was known for being over prepared at all times. The handbag frequently contained notes and political updates that might be on a twitter stream today. Everyone feared what might be contained in it at any given time. The Brits also have a verb handbagging, which is exactly what you think it is…..some old lady beating you into submission with that square hard-sided, short handled purse used as nunchucks. She did not think of herself as man or woman, but as a ninja of politics. After her retirement she was working on striking matches with her nunchuck purse, but it was never the same after Henry Kissinger stopped holding the matches. She will be remembered as a Brick House, as we say in America, with a very strong handbag.