(I purposely am not using the word “women” – I say “feminists” because feminists are self-respecting women, whereas “women” are merely a biological accident.)
After noting the enthusiasm with which Palin’s speech was greeted over at Reclusive Leftist’s – a feminist I’ve learned a lot from – I found the speech on YouTube and tried to watch it. I couldn’t. I had to turn it off after the third or fourth GOP propagandistic talking point came out of her mouth. Just couldn’t stand it.
My head has been on the verge of exploding – I’ve had a very nasty headache for three days – ever since Palin became big news. I’m so incensed over this pick I can hardly breathe.
I’m mad because they are using Palin to pretend they care about sexism. I’m mad because they are using Palin and her daughter to pretend they have “family values” on their side, whatever family values may be. I’m mad because they are using Trig to pretend they care about people with disabilities. I’m mad because they are having it both ways: Women can’t work if they have babies, but our (Godly) women can, because they know their place and will toe the party line in public and will not use their power to actually benefit their gender.
This stuff gets me hopping mad. I’m inarticulate with rage.
They are absolutely shameless and what they’re doing with Palin is one of their oldest tricks. It’s like when they whip out Ann Coulter to proclaim that women should lose the right to vote. It’s like the black Republican lawyer I once worked with who had a coffee table book of Reagan pictures on his desk.
This is really no different: Palin is one of the women who helped to make Offred a slave.
Palin is an instrument of a very male, very patriarchal, very anti-woman Christian God. She will advance his agenda over the bodies and souls of women.
If she isn’t a tool, she is evil. Either way, she isn’t anything feminists should find inspiring, no matter how slick she is (and she isn’t that slick).
And she is the queen of tokens. The thing about tokens is, they are usually used by people who don’t see the populace from which the token is taken, as being truly equal. They don’t even see them as worthy adversaries. If there is a fight to be won against women, why, they’ll simply enlist one of their own against them. It’s hardly worthwhile to waste more formidable manpower against a segment of the population that is so weak.
They believe the population from which they’ve plucked a token member can be played for fools so easily. Tragedy is, they’re often right, because the oppressed are sometimes foolish, just like anyone else.
We CAN be played against each other. Women have always been played against each other. If it weren’t so easy to do, we wouldn’t have an Independent Women’s Forum to face off against the National Organization of Women.
Some of our sisters are in cahoots with the enemy. That’s how it always will be, as long as there is anything to be gained through betrayal.
I learned long ago – in disillusionment and sadness – that women are not inherently more evil or more virtuous than men, and that women in powerful positions are just as corruptible as men in powerful positions and a woman in power means nothing if she, by being in power herself, in helping to hold back 50 other women.
A woman running a program into the ground is no more admirable than a man running it into the ground. It is not something to celebrate simply because hey! at least she had something to run.
No.
That’s not the point of feminism.
If women at the top are simply going to be used to hurt other women, it’s not a feminist advance. It’s part of the backlash.
Sarah Palin is not necessarily a tool. I will do her a favor and not deny her agency. Since I don’t believe women are angels, I have no problem granting that she may in fact simply be evil.
And an evil woman’s rise to the top does not avenge Hillary Clinton, a feminist. It is not a win for feminism. It’s actually just about the perfect slap in the face for any feminist who admired Clinton for being a champion for women’s rights – they’ve delivered their antithesis to a strong woman of the feminist mold and told us exactly who we should be. This is the acceptable woman. This mother, this Christian, this “pro-life”, anti-intellectual novice. This non-threatening piece of fluff.
Think of this VP pick as of a woman marrying a rich man and gaining the power of money through her marriage. It’s not real power and it’s not hers, not ultimately, and it means nothing for every woman for whom riches-through-marriage is not an option.
This is what token women at the top in anti-woman institutions mean: Access to power that is both unearned and undeserved, privileges that are exploited for narrow personal benefits and incompetence that harms everyone outside of a certain minority that knows which asses to kiss.
It’s not empowering. It’s not feminist.
It’s just more Republican lies, in that alternate Republican universe in which Sarah Palin proves, once and for all, that feminism hurts women.
Filed under: Books/Music/Art, The Attic, Uncategorized
I see Sarah Palin as an ordinary modern Republican woman with feminist leanings — about as feminist as Republicans get.
I do not think she’s evil, anymore than I think most ordinary Republicans are evil. I believe she — and they — are mistaken about many things. I do believe to some extent they are tools, because they’re misled.
To go beyond that, and paint all Republicans as fascists with black hearts of evil, is a mistake. I know it’s a mistake, because I — like most Americans — have Republicans in my family. Lots of them. I know these people. I know women like Sarah Palin. In fact, every time I see or hear Palin I think of a cousin of mine, who’s that same kind of conservative Republican go-getter woman.
We gain nothing for the cause of liberalism when we fail to see the humanity of everyone, including our political opponents.
Great post in so many ways. One problem or me is, though, the supposedly liberal boys, some of the liberal women and more than a few feminists handed the Reprobates the ability to sing “sexism” on a silver platter. First, the doodz engaged in atrocious sexism re: Clinton. Second, neither they nor anyone in their party shouted anybody out on the sexism, except for Harry Reid when it was far too late. Third, the liberal doodz, some women and yes, even some feminists, participated in some pretty negative and, at times, hateful sexism re: Sarah Palin and her daughter for four days and could not be stopped, despite many warnings that this played straight into the Reps hands. And it did. I HATED hearing the Reps crying “sexism”. But it made me more angry at the Dems than I was before. And that was pretty angry.
Clearly nobody’s gonna make these pols talk about the issues. That’s such a shame at this low point in American history. I can hardly bear it. On the weekend, you’d have thought Sarah Palin’s baby bump was far more important than a war. And that’s not the fault of the Reprobates.
Arrrrgghhhhh.
But geez, no, Palin is no feminist. I can’t believe, just can’t, that anyone is gonna fall for that who isn’t already seriously fucked up. She is, nevertheless, a highly competent and effective woman and if Democrats underestimate her, that will be a huge mistake.
Exactly. Palin only got the nod because she agrees wholeheartedly with the GOP’s bullshit. She’s their poster-child, their token of how “progressive” they are for women while they simultaneously dismantle the freedoms of women they don’t agree with or don’t approve of. The message is clear: obey men and succeed. Oppose men and fail.
Not only is Palin the complete antithesis of what feminists should be, this whole election is nothing but three steps backwards for women. We are handed this bullhorn of women-hating propaganda and told that we should be happy that we might see a woman hold the Vice Presidency. A woman that looked strangely like a feminist in a town full of male priviledge was replaced with a female chauvinist and liberals and conservatives alike expect us to turn tail and run into the “welcoming” arms of the Republican party and destruction.
Yet again, this is why I’m voting Green.
As feminists, did we ever tell persons like Imelda Marcos, that one woman in Saddam’s government or the one in the Syrian, why even Benazir for heaven’s sake are entitled to our support simply cos they are women? Feminism isn’t about tribalistic-non conditional support for women regardless of their agenda. As Pakistanis most everyday, intimiate oppression in our lives wasn’t done by men anyhow on a direct experience level, of course it was women, in school, in religious gatherings and in the gender segregated social functions we attend. U think being a woman in a male dominated society is all nice and cosy and sisterly and we all band together against the men? Huh, I seen Sara Palin’s right up close, they’re the ones who fill u with horror at the thought of sex outside of marriage, who viciously regulate what u think and monitor ure every move and tell u that the only value u will ever have is as a wife and a mother who loves Allah, her husband and her family-in that order. One of them used to drill the Qu’ran into us by rote and she had a ruler, and cos i couldn’t stay awake, and she smacked me so hard cutting me above me right eye and blood was pouring everywhere. She was considered a good teacher for us girls.
100% agreed. Next?
Are we going to let this diabolically efficient Republican/Conservative/Religious Right Thinktank outsmart us again? They are absolutely brilliant at manipulating collective humanity. I use that term as derisively as possible. The human collective reduces invariably to the basest feelings, instincts – fear (especially a vague pervasive fear), greed, petty misguided self interest, self-abasing kneeling at the altar of spirituality, lipsmacking glee at seeing anyone who dares to be different brought down, voyeuristic pleasure in sin….and do these fuckers know how to manipulate all this to their advantage!
Should we even wonder? They have invested mega millions to exactly this end….used our brains and our research against us. They have taken our terms (anti-racism, feminism, humanism, intelligence (think replacing Creationism with ID)) and brilliantly turned them on their head.
Heck, did they even do us in, in planning this entire scenario, hype around Palin? I think this was very interesting.
So, yes ….next?
Beautifully said.
Thank you so much for writing this. This nomination has made me sick and pissed from the start, but I hadn’t been able to articulate my feelings as well as this piece has. Sarah Palin is kind of the new “Clarence Thomas” (look, we got a conservative black man on the Supreme Court!) of the Republican party. And what does it say about John McCain, former “moderate Republican”? He’s all too willing to pander to the religious right, use their tokens and propaganda. Ugh. And considering Sarah Palin shot down legislation that would aid teenage mothers while she was governor… I guess that means family values are different depending on whose family is in question. Poor people mean diddly squat, no matter what.
On a separate note, I just wanted to say that I recently started reading your blog (read a few back entries as well) and love it. A lot of times I agree with you, sometimes I disagree, but your entries always make me think and are so well written. I feel like if the US gave you citizenship, we must be doing SOMETHING right.
Exactly. My comment is still in moderation over there. I pointed out that McCain said nothing when a GOP shill formed Citizens United Not Timid (so we can all know what Hillary is, HUR HUR HUR). That he giggled at the “beat the bitch” comment. That HRC was a target of misogynist attacks from the GOP since 1992, and that I’m bewildered by her approving tone towards these assberets.
Yeah, I think some of the crap thrown at Palin is sexist. I also think that she’s part of an ideology that authors a lot of this sexism–the double-standard for fathers who work as opposed to mothers, for one thing. I mean, really? Conservatives never made snide comments about letting “other people raise your kids”? They’ve never questioned a woman’s ability to do a job because she has kids? I must have imagined all of that.
And you know, for someone who’s supposedly supporting Cynthia McKinney now, it’s quite telling that her posts are focusing on the GOP’s digs at Obama, and that it’s defending Palin (and basically ignoring McKinney). Cynthia McKinney is running for President, she’s pretty damn progressive (far more than either HRC or Obama) and I wonder why more energy isn’t spent touting McKinney’s positions on the issues and her plans to get us from point A to point B.
[...] Palin as an insult to feminists [...]
Dahlia Lithwick had roughly the same response you do.
I second your bewilderment at VS’s recent tack. There’s no way in hell that the anti-choice, far-right Palin is the most feminist Republican politician out there.
And the McCain campaign’s choice of her for VP is not particularly bold… female state governors are no novelty these days, and they went with the youngest, least experienced one. I.e., the least threatening. And it may be a wash anyway. For every social conservative who’s thrilled by Sarah Palin, there’ll be another who has palpitations at the thought of a woman being a heartbeat away from the presidency.
But what the hell, it is a little sign of progess that the GOP has gotten around to this, a mere 24 years after the Democrats.
We’d be lucky if more people were “inarticulate” like you claim to be — even with rage, you are eloquent.
I agree with Violet here. I don’t think we advance our cause by categorizing Palin in an extreme way. I know people like her too, although not in my family which is socially liberal to a fault. But I think there’s a difference between saying:
(1) I think this kind of religious doctrine spawns beliefs that are totally at odds with what’s good for women and that people who ascribe to those beliefs are not going to advocate in women’s best interest. They are not necessarily evil, and may have feminist leanings in other areas, such as believing in women’s equal participation in sports and male-dominated professions.
and
(2) women with extreme right social policies are evil.
I think (1) is MORE than enough to pose a convincing argument, and (2) is not likely to be taken seriously by anyone who doesn’t already believe it, and therefore has limited productive reality beyond self-expression.
[...] feminism I’m going to post here what I said over at Apostate’s: I see Sarah Palin as an ordinary modern Republican woman with feminist leanings — about as [...]
You need to laugh sweetie. Come visit my blog, I stole some funny stuff today.
I think you have taken leave of your senses. Sarah Palin has gotten where she is solely due to her own considerable talents. She is an extremely impressive and capable individual. She is the sort of public official who, were she a Democrat, would be held up as an example to all women. But simply because you disagree with her politics you deny the fact of her undeniable talents.
No token ever enjoyed approval ratings as high as this. Right now she is the most popular member of both presidential tickets, outperforming even Obama. In fact, she is more of a feminist role model than Hillary Clinton. At least Palin did not need to piggy-back on anyone else’s political career, nor did she sacrifice her political ambitions to those of any man. She is her own person.
Frankly, I am amazed that while the entire Democratic Party stood by while Hillary Clinton was subjected to a sexist assault by the MSM and the “progressive” blogosphere, the Republicans have rallied to the defense of Sarah Palin. And now the alleged feminists are assaulting this extremely successful woman. The hypocrisy is simply breathtaking. Who the hell gave you the authority what women can and cannot do, which political party they may or may not associate themselves with, lest they be labelled “tools”, or worse yet, “evil”? Are you people totally fucking nuts? What you are doing is exactly the same what you claim to be protesting. You are advocating on behalf of limiting the choices women have. Well, fuck that.
You know, I used to be a Democrat. I still consider myself a liberal. I voted for Clinton, Gore, Kerry and never even considered voting for a Republican. But the way Hillary was treated really made me question where my loyalties lie. And when Sen. McCain announced the pick of Sarah Palin, the second she made a mention of the 18 million cracks, I wholeheartedly went over to his camp. And you just have to know there are quite a few people like me out there.
So, enjoy your little Obama, while it lasts. But, mark my words, should he ever become president you will rue that day. He’s no friend of women, feminism, or civil rights. The D after his name does not make it otherwise.
Go Barracuda!
wonderful post. i agree with every last word of it. i am in the same camp as you are. i have a huge amount of respect for dr.socks and read her blog everyday, and am saddened by her support of palin.
here is a comment i made at dr.socks’ place (it is still under moderation) on her post titled “karma, thy name is bitch”:
“inexperience? check. pandering to the religious right? check. corporate tool? check. why, if she had a penis and black skin, she’d be indistinguishable from obama. :-)”
you said it in a much more articulate manner.
I like your writing, Apostate – it is always well-thought out and well-presented. I don’t always agree with you 100%, though, but on this, oh my YES! I agree with you from the bottom of my heart.
Alternate Universe: Where We’d Be If Suffragettes Had Been Disaffected Clinton Supporters
This is what token women at the top in anti-woman institutions mean: Access to power that is both unearned and undeserved, privileges that are exploited for narrow personal benefits and incompetence that harms everyone outside of a certain minority that knows which asses to kiss.
The best, angriest and most righteous thing I’ve read on Palin yet.
Because she simply isn’t very interesting and has no depth, I think Palin fatigue is going to set in soon enough, but not soon enough for me. And despite the supposed “home run” of her speech (so-called by sycophants and idiots) I maintain that this was a bad strategic choice for McCain, because she’s simply too enmeshed with the Bush Kool-Aid drinkers and that undercuts his repudiation of the current administration.
I’d say you’re pretty articulate with rage, actually. :)
It also occurs to me that you’ve made a very strong case for given Obama/Biden your vote. I’d hate to see allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good put Palin a heartbeat from the presidency (in a a strong position to run on her own ticket in 2012).
I, personally, respect Palin enough to be horrified by her socially conservative politics.
Like Violet Socks, I have female relatives who are socially conservative republicans. I like them as people, but I’d respect them more if they weren’t essentially anti-feminist. In my family, the socially conservative women tend to be focused on their family and home life. The women with successful careers tend to be socially liberal. Some of the socially liberal career women are fiscally conservative, and some of those are (or at least, used to be) republicans. MacCain didn’t pick a fiscally conservative, socially liberal or moderate republican women as his running mate. He choose a social conservative.
I see social conservatism in women as being fundamentally in conflict with being successful in the public sphere, and I think Palin is a hypocrite and that her politics are harmful to women. The fact that she’s led a fairly sheltered life probably contributes to her social conservatism, but it doesn’t make her stupid or ineffective. It makes her dangerous, because there are a lot of women out there who are going to relate to her. They want that sheltered life; the comfort and false safety of tradition, but they also want legal rights and economic opportunity.
Like the Aposate, I’m not a gender essentialist. I don’t think that there’s something innately inferior or superior about women – we’re not better or worse people than men. I think that women and men are very similar, and the differences that have developed in our roles are fundamentally because of how human reproduction works.
In the past century, we’ve gained control over our reproductive systems. We have effective birth control, and we have abortion as a back-up. It’s taking society a while to adjust to this change in circumstances, but I believe that greater social equality will inevitably result. In order for this to happen, birth control and abortion need to stay legal and available. So, to me, reproductive freedom is at the heart of gender equality, and economic freedom tends to follow from it. Mess with the reproductive freedom and watch the political and economic freedom melt away.
All of this would be ok, telling in effect ‘they’re just normal Republicans…. so get over it.”
Normal?
McCain just said in his speech he’s annointed by history, plays up Vietnam like Hitler did with his time in the fucking trenches and sees everything apparently as a battle. He then ends his limp rant with crying out ‘fight’, ‘fight’ ‘fight’ over and over which sounds like Marilyn Manson. I can just see Palin handing out medals ‘of American Motherhood,’ one day.
If some candidate pulled this stuff in UK eveyone would be doubled up with laughter….. or calling the mental hospital. Annointed by history…. wtf?
NPR wants to know
Your question for Sarah Palin.
“This is really no different: Palin is one of the women who helped to make Offred a slave.”
[whistles in admiration]
100% with you on this. Great post.
[...] system and they do advance the patriarchy’s agenda, in witting and unwitting ways. As one of my readers pointed out, the day-to-day policing that is a fact of life for women under patriarchy, is done by other women. [...]