Recently, Vice president Mike Pence was both criticized and praised for his attitude regarding his dining habits with other women. He has stated that he won’t dine with other women unless his wife is present. This is so that he won’t feel any temptation to engage in any inappropriate activities with them. What is ironic is that he has received criticism from many liberals for displaying (according to them) a sexist attitude, while those on the right praise him for demonstrating his commitment to integrity and familial values (Smith, 2017).
Personally, I admire Pence for this decision. I say this with the assumption that it is, in fact, his own decision. This sounds like something that a female counterpart in any relationship, marital or otherwise, would enforce upon their male significant other to ensure that he does not have an affair with anyone that he is not supposed to. This could be said in an inverse context as well, meaning that a male could enforce such a rule on his wife or girlfriend. For all we know, this could be a mutual agreement between Pence and his wife in which both sides agree to the same terms. Regardless of whoever came up with the idea for this notion, I believe that sexism is not a factor in this decision. If Pence were a bisexual, it would be likely that he would not dine with other men without his wife present either. I believe that this decision is based on faithfulness and respect towards his significant other, and not intended to show disrespect to females.
- Smith, L. (2017, April 6). Dinner Dates: Mike Pence, Family Values, and Washington Masculinity – Culture on the Edge. Retrieved from https://edge.ua.edu/leslie-dorrough-smith/dinner-dates-mike-pence-and-washington-masculinity/
