Yesterday, someone said to me what is maybe the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, ever, and I have to admit that I am so ticked off about it that I had a hard time falling asleep last night, and I woke up this morning still torqued.
What they said was this: I should be forced to turn in my "feminist credentials" because I would not automatically commit to voting for John McCain because of his choice of running mate.
Um, the fuck? Are they serious?
Of course I should discount the comment completely out of hand anyway because of who made the statement, but I am really fundamentally distraught about this because, how many years and how many arguments later, people still don't understand what the hell a "feminist" is.
Despite what some people would have you believe, not all feminists are vagino-centric, man-hating, power-hungry, ball-busting, nasty, bitter, emasculating bitches. We are not all gun-toting, pantsuit-wearing, biker-booted, spiky-haired, Hooters-protesting, semi-Marxist lipstick lesbians, either. Although sometimes, some of us are.
I like to think of myself as an old-school, old-style, old-fashioned feminist. Someone once called that a "Title IX" type; I can live with that -- I believe in equal pay for equal work, equal access to equal opportunities, equal rights and equal responsibilities. My feminist beliefs are based on the idea that all people, regardless of whatever other labels are applied, are inherently equal.
Knowing all that -- and it's not like I'm quiet about believing that people are people are people, period, the end -- why do people automatically assume that, because I am a woman, and because I was (and still am) a Hillary Clinton supporter, that I would just go ahead and cast my vote for whichever woman's name is on the ballot?
Aren't we all smarter than this by now? Or am I the one who is living in denial? I mean, I was born and raised a Democrat, I am married to a Democrat, and I hope to raise my daughter as a Democrat, but I still hold that political affiliation because I believe that by and large, the Democratic party is more representative of my core values than the Republicans are. Why would any of that change just because the GOP (twenty years after MY party did it, by the way) has nominated a woman for VP?
Do people really think that I vote with my ovaries and not with my head and my heart? And if I did, would I really vote for someone who is opposed to women's reproductive rights?
And I'm the one who needs to turn in my "feminist credentials"?
people definitely need to talk about the issues. she's uber-conservative. uber. nra. anti-abortion. if that's what you want in office, ok. not me. i couldn't agree with you more.
ReplyDeleteWORD. woman's a WINGNUT. she believes in shooting wolves out of airplanes, and she sued the government to keep polar bears off the endangered species list. looks like she's got ties to mining and gas industries, and she believes creationism should be taught in science classes. plus, she's a neophyte dilettante who was a pageant queen. i.e., - SHE WORE A BINIKI FOR MONEY.
ReplyDeletebut i'm not a "good feminist" because i won't vote for her? WHAT-THE-FUCK-EVER!
You go girl. I'm actually pretty insulted by the entire debacle. Do people assume that I am a big enough idiot that I will vote for someone just because she looks like me, as if female political candidates are interchangeable? Whatever! If I were Sarah Palin, I'd be looking at McCain and going um...did you nominate me because of my girly bits? She should be insulted for being used in this way, they aren't even trying to hide the fact that it's a blatant grab for disgruntled Hillary supporters. And HELLO - if you were someone who supported Hillary, why in the HELL would you vote for someone like Palin who is diametrically opposed to what Clinton believes in on almost every relevant issue!
ReplyDeleteThis is *disrespect* to female voters, not a nod. And it infuriates me that the mainstream news media is just jumping on the bandwagon with this. It infuriates me there are idiot douche bags out there who *will* actually vote for her simply because she's female.
To circle back around, it's like: "You people DO understand what 'equal' means, right? And that one of the expectations is that ALL candidates for public office should be given EQUAL consideration, and the BEST QUALIFIED person should be elected?" Feminism ≠ women only. Christ on a cracker.
ReplyDeleteBecause it can't be said enough -- I didn't support Hillary Clinton JUST BECAUSE she is a woman, and I won't vote for Sarah Palin JUST BECAUSE she is a woman, either. And I really, REALLY wish that women who are doing that would just not vote, or die in a fire, or SOMETHING.
(OK, I don't wish they'd die in a fire unless they CHOOSE to. Heh.)
seriously glad you don't vote with your ovaries....i don't plan on voting with mine they are totally unreliable at my age...
ReplyDeletePalin represnts an odd disconect within the Republican party. Yes, look we're progressive enough to include women! But only as long as they can woo disgruntled Hillary voters. Its blatantly disrespectful to the women that they're trying to win over. Palin is far from a sea change in the way the Republican party does business. She's an Uncle Tom. The Republican party's pushed her out front (way too soon as far as her record informs) primarily because she's a beauty queen with tough uber-conservative stances.
ReplyDeleteI find the whole knocked up daughter senario telling though. Another win for "abstinence only" sex education. It's just another glaring bit of hypocricy from our friends from the right. (I'm going to link this to some friends if you don't mind)
Hey, thanks. I will clarify one thing, not that it changes my position any: apparently, Palin belongs to an organization called "Feminists for Life" which is anti-abortion but not necessarily anti-birth-control. Po-TAY-to, po-TAH-to, but still worth mentioning, in the interest of being fair and balanced and all.
ReplyDeleteYou pretty much nailed it at the end there: Palin, if elected, would actively seek to limit the rights of women (by opposing a woman's right to choose).
ReplyDeleteIf anything, I think that you're MORE of a feminist for refusing to support Palin based her political views. You're refusing to go along with the masses and choosing what you believe. Isn't that sort of what the whole thing is about: not conforming to bullshit ideals? More power to you.