Thursday, October 2, 2008

Abortion and Rape are no longer feminist issues

I find it hysterical that Sarah Palin considers herself to be a feminist seeing as she has such an unwavering stance on abortion and rape issues. Here's what she said when asked if she considers herself a feminist:

Sarah Palin: I do. I'm a feminist who believes in equal rights and I believe that women certainly today have every opportunity that a man has to succeed and to try to do it all anyway. And I’m very, very thankful that I've been brought up in a family where gender hasn't been an issue. You know, I've been expected to do everything growing up that the boys were doing. We were out chopping wood and you’re out hunting and fishing and filling our freezer with good wild Alaskan game to feed our family. So it kinda started with that. With just that expectation that the boys and the girls in my community were expected to do the same and accomplish the same. That's just been instilled in me.

Couric: What is your definition of a feminist?

Palin: Someone who believes in equal rights. Someone who would not stand for oppression against women.

Yet she wants to overturn Roe v Wade. Just because you are a tomboy or a hockey mom doesn't mean you are a feminist. I cringe to think how she could have possibly contributed to the Suffragettes. I don't see her as a bra burner (she's much too vain) and I doubt she'll garner much support from the riot grrrl community (they still exist somewhere) . She believes in some of the core principles of equal pay and opportunity, but the fact that you like to shoot wolves from helicopters doesn't make you Virginia Woolf. Her stance on a woman's right to bodily integrity and her belief that rape victims should pay for rape investigation kits set back a ton of hard fought progress on these issues. I think if Ani Di Franco heard Sarah Palin call herself a feminist, she'd beat her ass.

5 comments:

Comrade Kevin said...

It's a very watered-down version of "feminism", designed to be as patently inoffensive as possible.

It doesn't surprise me that the first GOP female on the ticket would be of this variety.

Randal Graves said...

I bet she's read all the feminist literature.

Anonymous said...

I'm so impressed with her feminism, I'm thinking of sitting down and having a beer with her, right after we chop some wood that is. ;-)

Kup said...

I think Roe V Wade should not be overturned, but I want abortion outlawed. Now my position is as consistent as hers.

alzaido alzaido said...

I thought it was incredible when she set up her case in regards to outlawing abortion and then stated that she doesn't think that people should ever be arrested if they have abortions.