Michelle Obama: The Womens' Woman

I think it is interesting to juxtapose Michelle Obama with Hillary Clinton because of the time period in which they were first ladies, and also because of how similar their husbands are in their ideologies. Although she herself is not a politician, the level of involvement Michelle Obama has as the First Lady of the United States is almost at the level of a politician. We have discussed a lot about race, specifically African-Americans, in the United States in History 2610 this semester. Being the first black First Lady in America plays a huge role in defining who Michelle Obama is as a woman, and has played a large role in the media attention put on her since her husband, Barack Obama, first began campaigning for President in 2006. During Bill Clinton's campaign, the focus on Hillary Clinton was shaped around what kind of woman she was: powerful, evoking fear, and intelligent. Michelle Obama has had this focus shone on her, along with the extra burden of race added to how media and the public have portrayed her.
We have studied black women mainly through Dorothy Roberts' book Killing the Black Body, and how black women are negatively viewed by society even to this day. This is further elaborated on in a political sense in Marino Bruce and Donald Cunnigen's book, Race in the Age of Obama. As stated above, Michelle Obama has the notion of race working against her, "African-American women are too often labeled "ugly" or even invisible. Patricia Collins (1990) asserts that characterizing them as mammies, matriarchs, welfare recipients, and hot mommas has been the foundation to essentialized notions of black women" (Bruce, Cunnigen 32). Bruce and Cunnigen also point out that despite all this, black women have always tried to redefine how they are perceived by society by seeking an education and focusing their work on public service.
Michelle Obama is the antithesis to the stereotypical black woman. Like Hillary Clinton, she was born near Chicago, Illinois, although did not grow up in the upper middle-class as Clinton had. Obama attended Princeton for her undergraduate career, and then went on to receive her law degree from Harvard. Michelle has focused much of her energy throughout life and in her role as First Lady towards social issues, many of which deal with minority issues. She has a passion for public service, which is shown through her many career positions in the City of Chicago administration as well as within the University of Chicago, where as associate dean of student services in 1996, Michelle created the university's first community service program. Obama became vice president for community and external affairs at the University of Chicago's Medical Center, where she worked until Barack was inaugurated as President (Biography.com). The quality and amount of education she received rivals her husbands', and the amount of money Michelle made as an attorney and hospital executive far exceeded what Barack was making as a Senator. She is a self-made woman, much like Hillary, but seems to be so much more than that, too.
There was a common theme in the media, and still is today as Michelle Obama will continue to be the First Lady for the next four years, that attempted to compare Obama to other First Ladies, as I am comparing Michelle and Hillary. However, many media outlets simply had to concede that there couldn't be a comparison, because nobody else was on the level of Michelle Obama (Bruce, Cunnigen 41). Michelle Obama is a special type of woman, "J. Zamga Browne, in the New York Beacon argued that there were two 'flavors' of first ladies, one fitting the traditionally meek, 'grin and bear it' woman; and then, there have been the 'ball-breaking' Democrats, like Roosevelt and Clinton, who had independent minds and lives. The most exciting and unique thing about Obama, 'is the way she so skillfully unites all three: supportive, independent and a fashion icon'" (Bruce, Cunnigen 41). Michelle Obama's combination of all three of these traits have put her in the spotlight more often than almost any other first lady.

Finally, all of these themes come together to show that 2008 was a turning point for not only first ladies, but for women of the United States. Unlike Hillary Clinton, Michelle has felt no need to pretend to be a typical wife or mom, and she used her first public event at the White House as First Lady to celebrate a new law concerning something close to her life's work-workers' rights (Caroli 337). As Betty Caroli also states in her book, First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama, "This willingness to combine professional expertise and a traditional women's role marked something new...an important turning point for women" (Caroli 337).  Overall, Michelle Obama has been able to connect with and inspire women across America through her grace and ease of being her own woman and not standing in the shadows of her husband, by being a supportive wife and mother, and still being involved in community and public service. She has not sacrificed either one of these identifying factors, and has showed women that it is possible to identify yourself as a woman in many ways, not just through one factor.
Below,
I have included a link to a video of Michelle Obama from The Colbert Report that displays what she does as First Lady through her passion for public service:
 Michelle Obama on Colbert Report-Military Initiatives, Family