187466 Resource 187006 187132 187132 1193353093822 1193353093822 Controlled California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver's Conference on Women

Notes from the Conference on Women at the Long Beach Convention Center, October 23, 2007

by Renee FraserAn auditorium full of 14,000 women represents a lot of estrogen.  It was ignited by striking comments from <a title="Maria Shriver's First Lady Website" href="http://www.firstlady.ca.gov/" target="_blank">First Lady Maria Shriver</a>.  This was her 4th Governor's Women's Conference.  This conference occurs every year in the Fall and is held at the <a title="Convention Center Website" href="www.longbeachcc.com" target="_blank">Long Beach Convention Center</a>.Maria, as she asked to be called, shared her personal search for identity.  She openly admitted that her identity had been subsumed by Arnold in the role of Governor.  And, how hurt she was when one of her children answered a friend who asked what her mom did and she overheard her answer, "she is just a housewife."  Maria said, "It is sad to me that that "job description" is not more valued.  It also made me think about protecting the identity my husband has crafted."Maria is in a search for her own "voice."  She has decided to eschew the expectations of others.  I salute her search and look forward to seeing the new "Maria" next year in a sea of estrogen. 10 application/xml false California Governor and First Lady's Conference on Women First Lady Maria Shriver Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Renee Fraser Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 reneefraser false true false false true 187283 false false true false false false true 187006 blog blogsite/ReneeFraser/web