In senatorial debates last week, two candidates told their opponents to “man up.” What makes this interesting is that the challengers who said “man up” are both women, Sharron Angle (R) and Robin Carnahan (D), and their opponents are men — Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO).
I have to admit that this confuses me. I know it’s a mixed-up, muddled-up world when it comes to gender expectations and roles, but I still don’t really understand this. Okay, so it’s not the first time this insult has been used this campaign season — Mark Barie, the leader of the Upstate New York Tea Party, used it on Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY), and Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL) used it on Gov. Charlie Crist (I) in Florida — but I think this is the first time that I’ve noticed female candidates saying this to male opponents.
I’m curious what Angle and Carnahan meant. Do they mean that to be a good senator, one should be “manly” and tough? So where does that leave them as women running for office?
This phrase isn’t an outlier, as our popular culture is full of exhortations to “suit up” or praise for having “balls of steel.” These phrases are used to denote strength and power, and there don’t seem to be corresponding phrases expressing this strength from a female perspective. Maybe because of our limited language, Angle and Carnahan used “man up” not because they thought one had to act precisely like a man to be a good senator, but because they didn’t have a way to tell their opponents to “woman up.”
In my opinion, this demonstrates a greater problem — that “man up” is associated with men, but there’s not a similar term that signifies the strength of women. And there should be.
AAUW Dialog 
“In my opinion, this demonstrates a greater problem — that “man up” is associated with men, but there’s not a similar term that signifies the strength of women. And there should be.”
Yes, there is. That term is “feminist.”
See Reid’s response to being told to “man up” at http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43986.html