• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Smart Domestic

True Stories of Semi-Competent Adults

  • Features
  • Real Talk
  • Decisions
  • Manifesto
  • About

Ambition made manifest in ways we don’t approve of

June 7, 2016 by Suzanne 1 Comment

Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Email this to someone
email

Hillary Clinton on ambition

I’m sharing this quote (from a profile of Hillary Clinton) for a few reasons:

  • The profile itself includes interesting insights on womanhood, feminism, and politics.
  • Her thoughts on ambition strike me as particularly resonant. (I’ve been nervous about ambition ever since I was stage manager for a 6th grade play, and the teacher pulled me and a close friend aside to tell us that our peers thought we were a little too power-hungry.) Here’s what HRC said on the topic of ambition:

She thinks women’s ambition is regarded as dangerous, she posited that it was about “a fear that ambition will crowd out everything else — relationships, marriage, children, family, homemaking, all the other parts [of life] that are important to me and important to most women I know.”

  • Leslie and I started The Smart Domestic to share perspectives on how to make our adult lives better, more interesting, and more honest. Hillary has led a life full of ambition and opinion, and she’s had to experience her own personal turmoil in very public ways. Whether you #feelthebern or, we shudder to say, you want to make America great again, you have to admit Hillary’s got some bona fide cred as a politician, feminist, and public figure. Reading about her (especially in a piece written by author Rebecca Traister) adds dimension to how we talk about power and politics.

All this to say #sorrynotsorry for posting a “politically sourced” quote. But tell us: Does the word ambition carry any baggage for you? Or are you happy to be an ambitious woman?

Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Email this to someone
email

Filed Under: Quotes Tagged With: ambition, hillary clinton, politics, quotes, womanhood

Previous Post: « In real life: Best/worst of summer
Next Post: Our favorite smart email newsletters »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah says

    June 9, 2016 at 1:52 am

    I am a happy ambitious woman, no baggage attached. I’ve always defined ambition in a positive light; working on multiple goals at the same time ; family,?personal, and career/professional. At this point in my life my ambitions are much more simplified; enjoying the fruits of my earlier/younger ambitions!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Say hello!

  • Email
  • Facebook

Recent Posts

  • Three great podcasts for kids
  • Travel tips for breastfeeding moms
  • How to make an emergency kit
  • Recommendation: Take a quick trip
  • How to raise readers

Recent Comments

  • Suzanne on The problem with online mommy-groups
  • Ayelet on The problem with online mommy-groups
  • John on Decisions: I’m leaving hipster paradise for Midwest familiarity

Archives

  • April 2018
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016

Categories

  • Decisions
  • Features
  • Manifesto
  • Miscellany
  • Parenting
  • Quotes
  • Real Talk
  • Shortcuts

Copyright © 2021 · Leslie and Suzanne