A Feminist’s Nightmare

The most shocking aspect of last week’s media feeding frenzy surrounding Sarah Palin was the number of women who passed judgment on Palin as a person. They questioned her conservative values, experience, motherhood, her daughter’s pregnancy, and commitment to faith. “Five children are too many for a woman in public life,” they quickly cried. They hypocritically ignored any mention of how Nancy Pelosi’s success ploughed new ground for women without sacrificing her five children on an altar of feminist success.

What was all this about? Why do some women, who have made a career out of being aggressive feminists, see Sarah Palin as such a threat? My conclusion is that feminists could not believe that Sarah Palin was a real person. They truly believe in their concepts of reproductive liberty, equal rights, and the right of a woman to refuse to be defined by a patriarchal society. Some pundits immediately concluded that Sarah Palin was just an out-of-touch “hick.” These would-be champions of women’s freedom believe that everyone should have rights - as long as they live according to their rules.

They assumed that this must be the most desperate political trick motivated by greed and energized by deception. The fact that some women actually love their husbands, struggle with the normal problems of life, and still have the heart to serve their community as genuine agents of change is outside of the realm of their imagination. I am appalled that strong feminists are threatened when a socially conservative woman emerges who is independent and assertive.

Perhaps Palin represents to them a throwback to the last century. Her temperament and views remind them of their grandmother’s generation. Her values and outlook are too “old school” to truly represent the woman of this generation. When Hillary Clinton was robbed of her chance to shatter the glass ceiling of the executive office, no one dared to believe that a conservative presidential candidate would have had the temerity to move so far outside of the box.

An unintended consequence of selecting Sarah Palin as a Vice-Presidential candidate is that it marks the end of an era of strident sexist politics. No, I am not saying that sexism is dead. I am, however, asserting that America is slowly overcoming both racial and gender prejudice. Ironically, the folks who should be most excited by the change are most threatened by it.