Women in Politics at the Comsewogue Public Library

March is National Women’s History Month in the United States so what better way to celebrate than by attending the program Women in Politics at the Comsewogue Public Library.

On March 28 from 7 to 9 p.m. the library will be hosting Suffolk Community College Professor Paulette Brinka. She will be discussing women in politics.

Her focus will be on the expectations of women who run for office as well as their verbal and non-verbal behaviors. This program will be sponsored by Suffolk County Community College Grant Campus Community Relations Committee and is open to all Suffolk County residents. Please call the library at (631) 928-1212 to register.

If you’re looking for additional information on this topic here’s a taste of some of the books and movies we have at the library.

Nonfiction

• Gabby: a story of courage and hope by Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly - Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords discusses the shooting she survived as well as her views on the current polarized political atmosphere and the plans for her political future.
• Legislative women: getting elected, getting ahead edited by Beth Reingold - Read essays written by political scientists about women in the U.S. Congress.
• Why women should rule the world by Dee Dee Myers – This book takes a light hearted but factual look at the changes that may occur as women begin to fill the top positions in politics as well as business science and academics. Myers was a White House Press Secretary during the Clinton Administration. She was the first woman in history to hold this position but news about her tended to focus on what she was wearing and her hairstyle.
• Big girls don’t cry: the election that changed everything for American Women by Rebecca Traister – Traister focuses her book on the 2008 presidential election and discusses how it forced us to face the issues of women, politics and power.
• The American woman, 1999-2000: a century of change—what’s next? Edited by Cynthia B. Costello et al. – covers a statistical view of the changes in women’s status during this time period and contains a section about women in Congress.

We also have biographies about congresswoman such as Geraldine Ferraro, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and Bella Abzug.

Fiction

• Black by Christopher Witcomb –Senator Elizabeth Beecham is the chairperson for the Senate Intelligence Committee and the presidential nominee. When she is accused of murder FBI special agent Jeremy Waller is called on to get to the bottom of the scandal.
• Eighteen Acres by Nicolle Wallace – A female president, chief of staff and White House correspondent handle a year filled with personal and political chaos.
• A Time to Run by Barbara Boxer with Mary-Rose Hayes – After Ellen Fines husband is killed in a car crash she takes over his campaign for a seat in the Senate.
• The Rules of the Game by Leonard Downie, Jr. – President Susan Cameron must deal with the political corruption she inherits from her predecessor when he dies shortly after taking office.   
• Sammy’s House: a novel by Kristin Gore – When Samantha Joyce, the White House health-care advisor to the newly elected administration, gets to the White House she must overcome her personal shortcomings.

On DVD

• The Contender- Joan Allen portrays a candidate for the position of Vice President who must persevere despite vicious attacks on her personal life.
• Air Force One – Glenn Close is the Vice President who must handle a crisis situation in which the president’s life is threatened aboard Air Force One.
• Commander in Chief – The television series starred Geena Davis as the first woman to become President of the United States. The show aired from 2005 to 2006.

In 1987 President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation officially designating March as National Women’s History Month.

Visit the National Women’s History Museum’s website and find out more about women’s history, contributions to politics and much more.