Pretty in Political Pink

On this post-election morning, I was listening to CBC, and there was an all-too-brief discussion on why more women aren't involved in politics. The general consensus seemed to be "we just don't know". I've heard some people say it's because women are turned off by all the mud-slinging, and that having more women in parliament would have a 'civilizing' effect on politics. Obviously those people have never been the target of a gossip-and-smear campaign led by a 16-year-old queen bee. I've heard some people say that party executives don't actively seek out women as candidates. While there may be some truth to that, I don't know if that's the biggest reason. As I watched the Belinda Stronach/Peter McKay soap opera unfold this past year, I kept asking myself the same questions over and over: Why is it that when we call a man ambitious, it means he's really going places in life, but when we call a woman ambitious, it means she's a bitch? Why is it that when a handsome man enters the political arena we assume he's charismatic, and when a beautiful woman does the same we assume she's stupid? Why is it that when a man betrays his party (as many say McKay did by merging with the Canadian Alliance when he had promised not to), we say he had to make a tough decision that a lot of people will disagree with, but when a woman betrays her party, she's a whore? Gee, I can't imagine why there aren't more women in politics.