A Feminist in the White House
Midge Costanza, the Carter Years, and America's Culture Wars
-
- $20.99
-
- $20.99
Publisher Description
A feminist, an outspoken activist, a woman without a college education, Midge Costanza was one of the unlikeliest of White House insiders. Yet in 1977 she became the first female Assistant to the President for Public Liaison under Jimmy Carter, emerging as a prominent focal point of the American culture wars. Tasked with bringing the views of special interest groups to the president, Costanza championed progressive causes even as Americans grew increasingly divided on the very issues for which she fought.
In A Feminist in the White House, Doreen J. Mattingly draws on Costanza's personal papers to shed light on the life of this fascinating and controversial woman. Mattingly chronicles Costanza's dramatic rise and fall as a public figure, from her initial popularity to her ultimate clashes with Carter and his aides. While Costanza challenged Carter to support abortion rights, gay and lesbian rights, and feminist policies, Carter faced increased pressure to appease the interests of emerging Religious Right, which directly opposed Costanza's ideals. Ultimately, marginalized both within the White House and by her fellow feminists, Costanza was pressured to resign in 1978.
Through the lens of Constanza's story, readers catch a unique perspective of the rise of debates which have defined the feminist movement and sexual politics to this very day. Mattingly also reveals a wider, but heretofore neglected, narrative of the complex era of gender politics in the late 1970's Washington - a history which continues to resonate in politics today. A Feminist in the White House is a must-read for anyone with an interest in sexual politics, female politicians, and presidential history.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mattingly chronicles the political career of her friend and former colleague Midge Costanza, a liberal feminist who became assistant to the president for public liaison under President Jimmy Carter at the time, the highest position a woman had ever held in the White House. Described by Mattingly as tiny, stubborn, and loud-mouthed, Costanza was born to the working-class owners of a sausage factory in Rochester, N.Y., and used flirtation and a self-deprecating sense of humor in order to navigate the sexist world of 1970s politics. Her political appointment was loaded with symbolism and expectations: special interest groups counted on her to fight for their interests, and liberals took it as a sign of Carter's commitment to social justice and women's equality. But when Carter turned out to be less invested in women's rights than Costanza had initially been led to believe, their partnership grew tense, leading to her eventual resignation. Mattingly provides an overwhelming amount of detail; the endless names and acronyms are difficult to keep track of and can prove daunting for readers who aren't political junkies. Luckily, bouts of dry narration are broken up by colorful quotations from Costanza herself (she once said about her Thanksgiving birthday, "My father always told me that what they really wanted was a turkey, and they got me instead. There are those who would say they got both"). The biography is a fascinating and thorough look at the way second-wave feminism played out in the political arena, and highly relevant at this particular political moment.
