Why Feminists [and the CCPM] Hate Sarah PalinCathy Young examines the cult of hate that has exploded against Sarah Palin:
On Salon.com last week, Cintra Wilson branded her a "Christian Stepford Wife" and a "Republican blow-up doll." Wendy Doniger, religion professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, added on the Washington Post blog, "Her greatest hypocrisy is in her pretense that she is a woman.
Ouch! A feminist lynching crew out to get the one woman that personifies all their objectives, save for one detail: There is an "R" after her name instead of a "D".
Even her marriage, broad network of family support, and successful career is seen as an impetus to the feminist archetype: "I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let you forget your my man...because I'm a woman"
Even her marriage, broad network of family support, and successful career is seen as an impetus to the feminist archetype: "I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let you forget your my man...because I'm a woman"
Mrs. Palin's marriage actually makes her a terrific role model. One of the best choices a woman can make if she wants a career and a family is to pick a partner who will be able to take on equal or primary responsibility for child-rearing. Our culture still harbors a lingering perception that such men are less than manly -- and who better to smash that stereotype than "First Dude" Todd Palin?
Nevertheless, when Sarah Palin offered a tribute to her husband in her Republican National Convention speech, New York Times columnist Judith Warner read this as a message that she is "subordinate to a great man." Perhaps the message was a brilliant reversal of the old saw that behind every man is a great woman: Here, the great woman is out in front and the great man provides the support. Isn't that real feminism?
Not to Ms. Marsh, who insists that feminism must demand support for women from the government. In this worldview, advocating more federal subsidies for institutional day care is pro-woman; advocating tax breaks or regulatory reform that would help home-based care providers -- preferred by most working parents -- is not.
When will the feminist establishment drop the pretense of being independent of any political party? As long as they support women who only goose-step to a democrat platform, they will never be an advocate for women's issues here or abroad. They are all on board with Obama's idea of "Change", but not when that "Change" comes to roost on their doorstep.
But when the feminist establishment treats not only pro-life feminism but small-government, individualist feminism as heresy, it writes off multitudes of women.
Of course, being a feminist role model is not part of the vice president's job description, and there are legitimate questions about Mrs. Palin's qualifications. And yet, like millions of American women -- and men -- I find her can-do feminism infinitely more liberated than the what-can-the-government-do-for-me brand espoused by the sisterhood.
Karen Porter, director of the Chester County peace Movement and Chester County Obama Team Leader has this to say about Sarah Palin:
"I grew up with many Sarah Palins - I know who they are, what they stand for, their limits - and their strengths. They are ruthless, messianic, true believers, and unflappable, as well as cruel to those (most of us) whom they objectify"
I am Sarah Palin. Her brand of feminism is a path I've been walking my entire life. You know what? It feels good to walk in her shoes.
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