Women's Values: How Democrats Can Win in 2008 and Beyond

Charles Derber is a noted social critic and Katherine Adam has been active in Democratic politics at the federal, state, and local levels. Today I welcome Professor Derber and Katherine as my guests to talk about their newly released book, The New Feminized Majority: How Democrats Can Change America with Women´s Values.

Welcome to both of you. It´s my pleasure to have you here.

Let´s get started by getting to know you a little better. Please tell us about yourselves.

Charles: Katherine is a researcher of child hunger at Drexel University. She is an activist in the Democratic Party and an important new voice of the youth generation on US politics. I am a professor of sociology at Boston College. He is a prolific writer, a popular teacher and an activist for social justice.

How did the two of you meet?

Katherine: Charlie was a professor at Boston College and I was a student. I studied with him.

When and why did you decide to collaborate on The New Feminized Majority

Charles: After I worked intensively with Katherine on her senior honors thesis, we decided there were the markings of an important book in her argument.

Tell us what this book is all about and why it is so significant to the 2008 presidential election.

Katherine: This book shows why a new set of values is driving "change" in America, and helps explain why Obama or Clinton will win in November. The Democratic candidates both represent "feminized values" – those held by the majority of American voters today, including both women and men. McCain and the Republicans are running on hyper-masculinized values. This book explains the difference and why American has moved from a majority of voters who hold masculinized values to a rising feminized majority of voters who hold feminized values.

The subheading for the Introduction surprised me: "Democrats Have Values, Too". Is it unusual to believe that Democrats hold certain values dear?

Charles: Yes, because it is widely assumed that Republicans are the "party of values." This is because Christian Conservatives, the base of the Republican Party, have defined themselves as "moral values voters." Religion is seen as the only foundation of values. Democrats, of course, have always had values. But they have tended to avoid explicit claims to morality, thus ceding the idea that only Republicans really care about values. And the media has fallen into and propagated this false way of thinking about values.

Where did the feminized majority come from? And what was missing from the political landscape at that time that created this feminized majority?

Charles: It began to emerge in the 1960s, which represented a sea-change in American values. In the 1950s, the US was thoroughly masculinized in its moral philosophy, embodied in the individualistic and competitive capitalist mantra of "Alone, I Will". In the sixties, ideas about equality, social change, and community began to create a new moral viewpoint based on "Together, We Can." The women´s movement of the early 1970s helped shape this philosophy, which soon became part of the new wave of feminist thinking that transformed a generation of women. Economic and military crises from 1980 until the present day – under a generation of masculinized Republican leaders like Reagan and Bush – have led to a rising feminized majority of both women and men who seek major change in values and politics.

While The New Feminized Majority speaks of how America can be changed with "women´s" values, the book contends that these values are also held by millions of men. Who are these men? Are they of a specific social class, faith, or educational background?

Katherine: They are from all classes, faiths and educational backgrounds, and they embrace these values for different reasons. Highly educated men who work in social professions learn the values in their education and work. Many working class men learn these values from their unions or out of an understanding of how corporate capitalism is undermining their security and wellbeing. Men can learn these values from their mothers or wives or daughters – or even their sons who have picked up the new ethos.

The book talks about John Edwards, Barak Obama, and Dennis Kucinich, all of whom you say are "successful feminized leaders with potential to change the Democratic Party". At this point, two of them—Edwards and Kucinich—are out of the race. Are Americans really ready for a feminized leader?

Katherine: The enormous enthusiasm generated by both Obama and Clinton suggest that they are not just ready – but eager!

Your book makes an interesting argument that Barak Obama is a more feminized candidate than Hillary Clinton. How so?

Charles: One example is Obama´s campaign slogan, "Yes, We Can", which illustrates his understanding of a new kind of values politics. Yes, We Can conjures feelings of community, equality, and change—the core values of the feminized majority. However, it´s important to remember that Clinton faces many challenges because of her gender. As columnist Ellen Goodman says, women candidates must "walk a fine line to erase a gender line" and remain in the "comforting center." Thus, while Obama is able to embrace feminized "change" rhetoric and imagery, the Clinton campaign may feel restraint is necessary to win the general election.

As it stands now, Obama has just swept the Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. primaries, leaving Hillary Clinton to play the comeback kid. Would you care to share who you think will end up winning the Democratic nomination? [Interviewer´s note: Obama has won 11 primaries in a row since this interview.]

Katherine: At this point, Obama seems to have the edge but Hillary still has a chance. Either one will carry feminized values into the general elections. As a woman, Hillary symbolizes the feminized majority but Obama´s emphasis on change has energized the feminized majority´s passion for transformation in a more dramatic way.

Your book also outlines a three step plan for Democrats to achieve victory in 2008 and beyond. Can you briefly describe your plan?

Charles: First, Democrats need to adopt a values-centered political strategy, based on feminized morality. For too long, Democrats have shied away from values politics, and now voters are about where the party stands. Second, Democrats needs to renounce the masculinized morality of the current political atmosphere and present a feminized populist alternative. A majority of Americans want to move away from social Darwinist economic policies and perpetual war. Democrats can harness this energy and use it to create major change. Third, Democrats need to motivate disengaged voters to become part of the movement. The feminized majority includes many non-voters and Independents. They are crucial to Democratic victory.

Where can readers purchase a copy of The New Feminized Majority?

Katherine: Most major bookstores and many different online sites such as Amazon or barnesandnoble.com. Also at the website of our publisher, Paradigm Publishers.

Is there anything either of you would like to add? Should we be expecting more Derber and Adam collaborations?

Charles: For the moment, we are focusing on getting our book out to a wide audience. Thanks for your help!

Thank you for spending time with us today. It´s been a distinct pleasure. I wish you and your book great success.

Charles Derber and Katherine Adam's The New Feminized Majority Virtual Book Tour begins on March 3, 2008 and continues all month long. If you would like to follow Katherine and Charlie's tour, visit The New Feminized Majority Virtual Book Tour. Leave a comment at their blog stops and become eligible to win a free copy at the end of their tour! One lucky winner will be announced on this blog on March 31!