To "wear the pants"

"Wear the pants"

wear the trousers (Br E)
(often disapproving, especially of a woman)
to be the person in a marriage or other relationship who makes most of the decisions. 
to be the dominant partner in a relationship.
(OED)

I was not so familiar with this idiom until recently, now Hilary Clinton running for presidency. Hilary Clinton's power pants suit has become her trademark, and there was even a flash-mob to pay tribute to her ("Pantsuit Power").

Why does she always wear pants suit?

This question was on YAHOO Answers, and many gave responses, some sarcastic, some serious. From the serious ones, they say it is reasonable and practical because she can 'fit in' better with the boys club in pants suits when she is fighting in the male dominant field, and in order for a woman to be taken seriously, not to be held in contempt, she has to look like a man.

Women cannot fight in the male dominant field as she is, but has to look and be like a man.



Hello!?
We are living in the 21st century and we still have to deal with this kind of S**T?! (Excuse me).

I wondered and checked when this idiom came into English, and it goes back as far as mid-1500s. It started about 500 years ago, time when women wore only skirts, and "pants" was equated with an authoritative and properly masculine role. So the idiom is generally applied to women, to refer, disapprovingly (this is the part that annoys me), to a person who wasn't in the position to make the decisions has gained that right.

Women started to wear pants in the early 20th century as work clothes reforming the men's pants, and the item came into women's fashion in 1960s.

Nearly a century of history with pants and STILL, women have not gained the 'proper' right to make the decisions, to be the dominant one.

Will the result of this year's presidential election have any influence on the status of women? Will it have any influence on the nuance of idioms?

Let us look forward to it.