Since I can't be accused of being a tin-eared meathead of a guy, I can say that it's exactly this sort of irrational hysteria that makes younger women want to stampede away from a group identity with feminism - whatever feminism is in this day and age.
According to my personal definition, a feminist would feel unapologetically free to choose a president - or any candidate, for that matter - on that individual's merits, without regard to gender. As Catherine Price succinctly says in Broadsheet,
- When we first got wind of this press release, we double-checked the source to make sure it wasn't from the Onion -- because this has to be a joke. A state chapter of a national feminist organization is saying that we should vote for someone just because she's a woman? Really? I suppose that also means that all white men should vote for John Edwards and all black people should endorse Obama (although by that logic, black women are screwed -- they've got two groups to betray). Call me naive, but I'd planned on basing my political decisions on the candidates' ability and political positions, not on whether we both have ovaries.
3 comments:
I am probably just a few years younger than you have, but this NOW PR took me totally by surprise also.
So, what I have fought for all my life was not the right to think by myself and make my own decisions, but the obligation to support any woman running just because she is a woman?
Exactly. I thought we were so far past this. I found it shocking - and my 20-something daughter was disgusted.
I can't help but wonder what words of wisdom Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton would have for us today. It seems we take two steps forward and one step back. I guess the "women" who wrote this are as ignorant as the men who also perceive us as some type of "club" who care only about our "club" because we are not capable of handling real political issues confronting America.
Post a Comment