One of the worlds most powerful women and her letter of admiration...Does smart women have to caress the ego of men to get somewhere?
It feels strange and peculiar with the letter that was found in the apartment of Christine Lagarde, Head of IMF (during investigation of an economical incident of one of Sarkozy's friend), where she writes that she (while she was finance minister) that she supports his projects. Well, ok, that is reasonable, but it is the following words that really makes one feel uncomfortable:
"Use me during the time that suits you best and fits your action and your cast....If you decide to use me, I need you as guide and supporter: without guide, I might be ineffective, without support I might be implausible. /.../ With my immense admiration, Christine L.”
Well, ok, one can interpret the letter in many ways. Christine Lagarde has not yet chosen to comment, which might be smart. But one interpretation is that one of the worlds most powerful women, with a lot of knowledge, has this unhealthy subordination towards an ex.president of France, which could very well effect her actions now and in the future.
There are those who claims she wrote the letter 2007, when she had a modest role and wanted to "climb up". Which she did, but the fact that this required a letter of this kind shows us the unhealthy patriarcal structures by which we are all prisoners. If so, she was forced to show herself as weak, and in need of his support, strength and knowledge, to be able to be of help.
I now wish she could be really cool, and calmly state: "yes, I wrote the letter, because I wanted to move forward in my career, which I also knew I could, and I was embarressed then and I am embarressed now, because obviously I didn't mean anythinh with it, but it was the only way for me to be able to be finance minister... to caress his ego... But now I am in the position that I can fight so that no other woman shall be forced to write a similar letter (or do something worse than that, against her will) just to get somewhere... Now I am ready to critisize and fight the structure.
"Use me during the time that suits you best and fits your action and your cast....If you decide to use me, I need you as guide and supporter: without guide, I might be ineffective, without support I might be implausible. /.../ With my immense admiration, Christine L.”
Well, ok, one can interpret the letter in many ways. Christine Lagarde has not yet chosen to comment, which might be smart. But one interpretation is that one of the worlds most powerful women, with a lot of knowledge, has this unhealthy subordination towards an ex.president of France, which could very well effect her actions now and in the future.
There are those who claims she wrote the letter 2007, when she had a modest role and wanted to "climb up". Which she did, but the fact that this required a letter of this kind shows us the unhealthy patriarcal structures by which we are all prisoners. If so, she was forced to show herself as weak, and in need of his support, strength and knowledge, to be able to be of help.
I now wish she could be really cool, and calmly state: "yes, I wrote the letter, because I wanted to move forward in my career, which I also knew I could, and I was embarressed then and I am embarressed now, because obviously I didn't mean anythinh with it, but it was the only way for me to be able to be finance minister... to caress his ego... But now I am in the position that I can fight so that no other woman shall be forced to write a similar letter (or do something worse than that, against her will) just to get somewhere... Now I am ready to critisize and fight the structure.
