the feminist agenda

[ironymaiden]

i have read several pieces that order me, as a woman with feminist values, to speak out against sexist or misogynist language used against Sarah Palin.

i disagree. i have held my tongue because i felt that friendship and civility were more valuable than engaging in a likely endless argument. but i'm really done here.

the language that has been used about her is remarkably similar to the language used about Dan Quayle, and i see no reason to treat her as anything other than a public figure, someone who happens to be under-informed and inexperienced, inept under pressure, and who holds policy positions that i consider to be odious.

i believe that she is anti-feminist. i will not offer her any support or protection because of mere biology. i certainly will not offer support or protection because of my feminist ideology.

“As a cold political calculation, I could not be more pleased,” McCain said, calling Palin “a direct counterpoint to the liberal feminist agenda for America” and asserting “she’s the best thing that could have happened to my campaign and to America.”

still hurt about Hillary? Palin is not going to kiss it better.

any woman who believes that electing McCain-Palin is in their best interest, or even a "lesser evil" than Obama-Biden is a fool.

maybe saying this is an unfriending offense. that's unfortunate.

Comments

[julzerator.livejournal.com]

I can't agree with you more.

[craftyasparagus.livejournal.com]

Same here.

[dreamline.livejournal.com]

i will not offer her any support or protection because of mere biology

Yes.

still hurt about Hillary? Palin is not going to kiss it better.

Exactly!

[e-bourne.livejournal.com]

I loathe Sarah Palin. She is everything that, as a single mother small business woman struggling on my own during my thirties, I fought against. Seriously, I look at her and my blood pressure rises. She's a dangerous hypocrite and I am baffled and angry when my sisters can't see it. Have we really become that stupid that all it takes is a pair of tits and a special needs child to win our vote?

I mean, I can understand the Dudes for Palin. I know what they're thinking with. But the women?

She shouldn't be treated any differently than any other candidate, and politics is always a rough play date.

[varina8.livejournal.com]

I'm with you. Politics is a tough game. We might want to pretend it's a parlor debate, but it's not, whether you're here or elsewhere (remember Margaret Thatcher or Indira Ghandhi). You want to play, prepare to get bloody whatever your gender.

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

What they all said plus I'm with you.

[textualdeviance.livejournal.com]

I object to actual sexist attacks on her. I also object to the way she's being pimped out by her party as little more than a spokesmodel. And I strenuously object to her own acquiescence in the framing of her as an appropriate replacement for Hillary merely because they share biology, since they share nothing else.

But the insistence that any criticism of her, including personal criticism that goes to assessing her judgment, character and core values, is sexist? Pisses me off, because it goes directly against feminism's core goal of judging each woman on her own merits and removing the question of our relative decorative or fecund qualities from the equation of that judgment.

There is plenty of real sexism in this election, and much of it has been aimed at Palin. Sadly, most of it has been perpetuated by her own party and accepted by the woman herself, if nothing else merely by the act of choosing her for a position for which she is utterly, completely unqualified.

[mimerki.livejournal.com]

All of my thoughts, only coherent and without bile. Thank you.

[mrdorbin.livejournal.com]

What she said. There's nasty stuff out there, but that's true of every woman in public discourse (and this election at least, of both presidential candidates too; some of the progressive blogs comparing McCain to Grandpa Simpson is not winning them favor in my eyes). It's totally rephrehensible, but I'm not going to base my vote or my political positions on who the public has been meanest to.

(And shall we talk a moment about what Sarah Palin and John McCain mean for gay people (half of whom, I hear, are women)? Tolerance as something to aspire to? Opposition to gay adoption, at least until their advisors tell them it's a done deal? Marriage amendments? Opposition to the universal health care that would ensure people who can't or don't get married have access to medical treatment? Most of my family is probably voting McCain, and I'm actually pretty hurt that I'm that low of a priority for them.)

[textualdeviance.livejournal.com]

some of the progressive blogs comparing McCain to Grandpa Simpson is not winning them favor in my eyes

I think there are legitimate questions to be had about the state of his mental and physical health, but not solely because of his age. Biden's only four years younger, after all, and aside from the anyeurism scare 20 years ago, he's been in great health. And he's clearly more vibrant and on the ball than McCain is.

Besides, McCain's not Grandpa Simpson, he's Cotton Hill. ;)

Most of my family is probably voting McCain, and I'm actually pretty hurt that I'm that low of a priority for them.

Ugh. Tell me about it. I'm quite tired of my parents telling me that there are "more important" things than whether people they claim to love have basic human rights. Of course, "more important things" to them means keeping "the Mexicans" out of the country, bombing the crap out of everyone in the Middle East and dismantling the federal government.

Most of the time, I prefer to think I was raised by wolves.

[sinthrex.livejournal.com]

IAWTC.

Both my parents and the parents of my best friend are probably going to vote McCain.

Both he, his wife and I are all military and McCain has one of the worst voting records on the military in the Senate. Nevermind his questionable statements on possible future tasking for us. "Bomb, bomb, bomb...."

Feel the love.

[mort-q.livejournal.com]

Sarah doesn't scare me because she's a woman... she scares me and she's a woman.

[ironymaiden]

spokesmodel. yes.

[twilight2000.livejournal.com]

You speak well and eloquently and anyone who doesn't understand that voting for her *because* of her plumbing is *the* worst act of sexism in a century is not paying attention.

A vote for Palin is a vote against women

[webcowgirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I see her as being a Dan Quayle of the new millenium. She's revolting.

[textualdeviance.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking more about this today...

I think there are few true Hillary supporters who really are behind Palin solely for chromosome loyalty reasons. Some were conservative to begin with, and felt Hillary was centrist enough for them and Obama too liberal (how they get this, I don't know, since their policies were almost identical, but there ya go) and so thus Palin is a logical choice to move to.

The motivation I've seen for most, though is less a matter of biology or policy and more a matter of protest, because they feel the DNC mishandled the primary and that many Obama supporters, if not the man himself, used sexist digs to drag Hillary down (Chris Rock's "old white lady" comment, for instance.) I personally did see this a lot, but it honestly wasn't any more prevalent than the race-baiting by many Hillary supporters (which continues even now.)

Thing is, though, neither of the candidates themselves engaged in or encouraged that nonsense (unlike the encouragement Palin has given to many of the jingoistic cretins voting for her ticket), and I think it's ridiculous to try to "punish" Obama for the nasty actions of some of his supporters or the few questionable acts of the DNC. It's not his fault that some of the people supporting him are douchebags and it's not his job to police everything said or done by anyone wearing an Obama t-shirt.

There are far better ways to clean up bigotry and encourage better procedural accountability than to give the opposition a vote in some sort of inelegant attempt at protest. Once the vote is cast, no-one knows or cares what really motivated it, and it ends up being tossed in the bucket of overall support for the ticket's policies. A far better protest vote would be for one of the third-party candidates, because at least that would end up being counted as support for that party's policies.

The primary was hard-fought and I understand that some hardcore Hillary supporters may still feel the sting of her loss and may thus be loathe to support the guy who beat her (especially if they still have concerns--however unfounded--about the legitimacy of that win.) But IMHO, it's childish, not to mention unproductive, to go running to the other side just because of a first-round loss. This is the future of the country--the world, even--we're talking about, here. It's not something we can screw with just to make a point. Especially if that point, in the end, is really quite small compared to everything else we face.

Was there sexism in the primary? Yes. Were there irregularities in its process? Possibly. Is voting for McCain a rational and productive response to this? Hell, no. If someone just can't stomach voting for Obama, fair enough. Sit it out or vote for Nader or McKinney or write in Ani DiFranco or something. Don't go putting adding another rubber stamp to the odious policies and practices of the McCain campaign. If the concern is about endorsing bigoted campaigning and underhanded politicking, then why the hell endorse a team that has committed those sins 1,000 times more and 1,000 times worse than the Obama camp and the DNC ever did?

[ivy]

I hope my post wasn't taken in this vein, or I totally failed in my intent. Eek. Like some of the other commenters, my beef is with comments framing her in a sexist objectifying manner. ("That whore", for example, which I have heard from my friends, and which occasioned the post.) But that's *certainly* not to say that she ought to be immune to criticism. Indeed, failing to criticize her on her positions and behaviour just because she is female is itself non-feminist to me. I want egalitarianism, not coddling of people in positions of power just because they happen to be women.

Also, who thinks disagreement is an unfriending offense?

[ironymaiden]

not really - you were on the nuanced end of the spectrum. i've been reading more extreme variations all over the internets. (the person i thought might go, went.)

i don't think Palin should be called a whore, in the selling sex sense. it's inappropriate and untrue. i find threats of violence against her or any candidate unacceptable.

...but i could write a little essay about how she is selling her body for prestige. and that punches my buttons in a way that leads to blind fury.

public silence is the best that i am able to offer.