Sarah Palin Feminism is Anti-Woman

There are many schools of feminism. There's the school of feminism that believes you vote for a woman no matter what the consequences because she is a woman and we need more women in government. There's the school of feminism that believes you vote for the most qualified person and if that happens to be a woman, even better.

Now there's a new school of feminism, created solely for those saps who didn't believe in feminism before September 2008--Sarah Palin feminism. It's made up of thousands if not millions of women who are recognizing for the first time, or at least admitting for the first time, that sexism exists and that we should support women candidates.

The problem with this last type of feminism? It ignores everything that feminism has been about for centuries in the hopes of electing one woman who could set our gender back decades, if not further.

You may ask yourself, and I'm sure people will ask me, why Sarah Palin is bad for women. Go ahead--ask it. And I'll answer you in a well-thought-out set of talking points that you should take with you to the bank and store away for safe keeping.

1. Sarah Palin is a token woman.
Sarah Palin is the GOP's Vice Presidential candidate for no other reason than the fact that she's a woman and they need pissed off Hillary supporters who may ignore politics to vote for someone who has a vagina. That's plan and simple. To think otherwise is to fool yourself, and I hope you try to avoid that at all costs.

Definition: A token woman is a woman placed in a predominately male setting placed there for the simple fact that she is a woman and a woman is needed for appearances.

By all definitions, Sarah Palin is that woman. I think in the past few weeks, Palin has showed us how vulnerable she truly is as a politician, lacking experience and even the quality of character to do her own interviews, stay on point or talk the issues with any sense of cohesiveness or consistancy. Sarah Palin is to John McCain what Colin Powell was to Bush I--a convinient way to say "I have friends that are Black..." or "I have a woman friend..." without having to justify or discuss their issues which oppose the majority of Blacks or women in society.

In other words, Palin is not there for her brains or her politics as much as she's there because she has, presumably, the physiological parts that comprise a woman--a demographic from which the GOP needs a win.

2. Sarah Palin is not a politician in her own right as much as she is a figure head to be viewed in the male gaze.
For those of you unfamiliar with the male gaze, here's a (very) basic primer: The male gaze is the point of view from which a situation is viewed that casts (or typecasts) a woman as an object, not as the subject of the situation. It was a theory derrived from a study of film. If you still don't get it, this Dinosour Comic explains it much simpler and definitely more understandible.

So how does Palin fit into the Male Gaze? Well, it's actually so blatant that it becomes obscured, like viewing a close up item with binoculars. Sarah Palin has been viewed, from day one, as not an independent woman making decisions on her own and joining the McCain campaign for her own political motivations or beliefs, but rather a figure head for the GOP's attempt to gather women voters and solidify conservative males by creating a "VPILF". Instead of creating a persona for herself, Palin has become an object, rather than a subject. She is viewed as treating McCain as a sugar daddy or even pimp, thus furthering the view.

In other words, Palin is not on the ticket as McCain's equal or even his second in command, but she's there to be a figurehead for women, subjugated to the same myopic view of the world that has existed with men in charge for millenia.

3. Sarah Palin doesn't care about women.
Remember when Kanye said George Bush does not care about black people? He was right. That was the irony of the uproar over it. George Bush's policies have disenfranchized Black America from receiving their piece of the pie from day one of his presidency and even as Governor of Texas. In the same vein, Palin represents not a policy driven perspective intent on helping women achieve equality, but rather one that attempts to both use and abuse her gender for gain when necessary and drop it when convinient. Her policies about everything from rape kits to family planning imagine a world where women do not have choices over what happens to their bodies and once it has happened, have no recourse with which to address the aggressor. Her ideas about "counseling for life," even in the cases of child rape and incest are beyond regrettable. But even in the most stunning of changes, Palin denies that sexism plays a part in our media culture, something even Mom Grace could tell you, she claims the latest hullaballo over the price of her clothing was sexist. (Oddly enough, McCain campaign advisors are playing into the sexism Palin claims surrounds the wardrobe malfunction.) She doesn't believe in comprehensive sex education, even after her daughter falls victim to abstinence only policies.

In other words, if a man had these policies, you'd think of him as anti-feminist and anti-woman, but because she's a woman she's gotten, in large part, a free pass.

Feminism is about supporting women in achieving equality based on the theory that women are equal to men and should be treated alike. Sarah Palin Feminism is the idea that women can be touted around to serve agendas, present a strict set of so-called "family values," but never to stand on their own two feet and declare policies that support fellow women.

I hope for the sake of all the women in the world and those yet to come into existence, that we remember these things when we vote next week and recognize that a vote for the McCain/Palin ticket supports such backwards views of women and feminism.

Not to pick an old scab and start a new argument....

But I can't help but post this piece by Tim Wise. I'm not going to copy it because I don't want to take credit for his words, but seriously...if you're one of those white women vowing to stay home or vote McCain for "solidarity's sake", please read this. In fact, read it now and read it often.

And by the way, Tim Wise is a white dude. Pretty much one of the coolest white dudes ever.

Happy 88th Anniversary to My Right To Vote!

See, even though I'm only in my twenties, there is one anniversary that extends much further back than me. My right to vote as a woman was secured by some scrappy ladies back in the early 20th century, vowing to never give up the fight. Those iron jawed angels gave me and every woman I know reason to celebrate...and reason to participate.

The fact is, one of the reasons I get so damn mad when people say that they aren't going to vote is because there are people that have died to secure these rights. Hell, even white men need to show a lot of gratitude to our founding fathers. But for those of us who weren't originally seen as a whole person--at least not worthy of voting--it's even more of a reason to take that privilege seriously. You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't take the mask of the old Lone Ranger and you don't mess around with the right to vote. Plain and freaking simple.

So today, have a drink--coffee, alcoholic, water, soda, or otherwise--and honor those women who fought ferociously so that we don't have to.

Thanks a pantload, Asssss

As many of you don't care about, Ashlee Simpson (better referred to as ASShole Simpson on my beloved dlisted) married her longtime beau Pete Wentz. Great for them. (Unrelated--they've finally confirmed that she's knocked up as well.)

But imagine my irritation this morning when on multiple sources, including from Moxie I learn that ASShole Simpson truly earned her moniker with this gem of a comment about changing her last name:

"I think that that's something that a woman should do when they're marrying a man," the pop star lil' sis of Jessica Simpson told the magazine. "It's a tradition that I think is a great tradition."

Ugh.

Why is it that we're going backwards? As many of you know, though I am married I have not changed my name. There are a number of reasons why for me, personally, this was the right decision. Not the least of those reasons was the fact that the historical reasoning behind the requirement that a woman change her last name to that of her husband was the same reasoning that saw her as property without any rights. Granted I don't feel that way in my marriage (and if I did I'd never have entered into it), but the "tradition" that ASS speaks of isn't a great tradition...it's a sad one.

I could tell you stories about the hassles I encountered when telling people I wasn't changing my name. I will let you know that Mr. SG isn't a fan of me keeping my name at all. And, as the priest that married us pointed out, a woman is either stuck with her father's name or her husband's name. That being true, this is the name that I have made for myself in my career and my life and it was staying that way. (Though I did compromise to add Mr. SG's last name before mine...something I have been too lazy/busy to do as of yet.)

Regardless, though I don't usually take comments from such an asinine source so seriously, I must say that this really rubbed me the wrong way. Not only was it a stupid comment, but it insinuated that women like me are wrong in some way for choosing not to change our names. Instead of being praised for showing that a heterosexual marriage doesn't have to be steeped in barbaric traditions of property ownership and female submission, we are looked at as if we are the loonies in the room.

These are the ways in which it makes me sad that my generation has not stepped up to the plate to accept feminism as a way of life. We take for granted the strides that were made to give us what we have and make asinine comments like the one above without recognizing what the 'tradition' truly means.

If it's the woman's well-intentioned and well-informed choice to change her name, then so be it. But if it's without any recognition that it was used for millenniums to ensure the second-class status of women, then I'll be damned if I sit by quietly and watch progress eroded right in front of me.

Finances for a Feminist

Recently in my travels on the blogosphere, I came across this blog: Feminist Finance. Being that Mr. SG and I want to get our finances together and I am, in fact, a feminist, it seemed like I should read more.

I'm glad I did.

This blog dissects those hard to reach issues (kind of like the teeth in the back of your mouth on the Reach commercials) that meet at the corners of Gender Avenue and Finance Street. I, for one, think this type of blog is long overdue. I can't say I've combed the whole thing yet, but I'm definitely interested in going through it. I can say that what I have read thus far, has been intriguing as all get-out.

SG at the Movies: Ehhh boy....Baby Mama edition

So though I wasn't waiting with bated breath, I was looking forward to seeing this movie. I like Tina Fey and when Amy Poheler is funny, she's hilarious (of course, when her jokes miss it's not even bearable). But after I left the movie theatre Friday night, I had a sour taste in my mouth that I just could not shake.

The movie, in a nutshell, is this: Tina Fey (who is a "career woman" which means she couldn't have a man and a good career--just one and she chose the career) decides at age 37 that she wants to have a baby on her own. She tries many things, but is told that her chances of getting prego are 1 in a million. So she goes through an agency, run by an annoying-as-hell Sigourney Weaver, to find a surrogate, Amy Poheler. Amy is a saucy, trashy, white chick with a slight fashion flair who is in a "common law marriage" (which conveniently actually exists in Pennsylvania, where the movie is set) with Dax Shepard. They do in vitro using Tina's egg and a random dude's sperm. Amy doesn't get pregnant from this...(which takes awhile to sort out) but does get knocked up from a post-invitro romp with Dax. The guise goes on for 79% of the movie while Tina gets friendly with smoothie-making Greg Kinnear, whom she doesn't tell about her upcoming parental situation. He ends up crashing the shower where Dax announces to the crowd the scam going on and Amy feels bad because (as expected) she's now grown fond of Tina. There is a small custody battle because of the unknown parantage and the DNA shows that it's not Tina's kid. That same day, Amy goes into labor and Tina passes out during (because, of course, even though she's furious at her she accompanies her into the delivery room) and that's when they found out that Tina's overcome the odds and has gotten knocked up by smoothie-Greg. Everyone leaves with a kid, everyone's happy and the movie ends at some Chuckie Cheese like establishment on Amy's kid's first birthday. Hip hip horray for being convenient.

So here are my problems with the film:
1. Maybe there is a real issue with the surrogacy market, but the so-called investigation they did into Amy's background was shoddy at best. I mean, visiting her apartment would have revealed that.
2. Why is it that in order for a woman to have a successful career she must have abandoned all hope for a significant other and family? This movie perpetuates the idea that women, particularly young women, must chose one or the other--either you get to have a career or you get to have a family. You can't have both. And for Tina Fey, the feminist, you'd think she'd get the ridiculousness of this. I mean, if she had just not had the right moment, fine, but she goes through this whole "woe is me for I've chosen career over love" thing for a good 65% of the movie. It's not only unrealistic, but it's really demeaning to those of us who want both.
3. I understand the desire for a happy ending, but Tina Fey ending up prego is just a kick in the crotch to women everywhere who have trouble conceiving. Basically the message is this--once you take your mind off of it, you'll get knocked up and all will be well. And that message is insulting to the millions of women who are unable to have kids. It's almost as if to say "it's all in your head and once you stop thinking about it, it'll happen." It's a twisted way of doing things and though it might be reality for some women, it's a bad thing to portray as possible on a movie screen.
4. I'm all for the bonds of female friendship, but you besta believe that if someone screwed me over as bad as Amy did that we wouldn't be all buddy buddy afterwards.

Call me cynical, but you have to admit that this isn't necessarily the most advanced storyline. I get that it's a comedy and I get that it's a movie, but at the same time, people like Tina Fey have a reputation to live up to. She's keen on telling people that "bitch is the new black," but she isn't so keen on living up to that standard. This is the kind of storytelling drivel that convinces women that they have a choice to make and, unlike men, can't have it all...of course, until they stumble into it (but they first must have made the choice).

File this under: it's cute, but it's questionable.

Exactly what I was thinking (but not my point of view)

Anachroclysmic has a blog up today about what it's like to be a feminist blogger supporting Obama. It's one of a three part series.

I think this inspired me to get my blog together today.

Amen, sister. A-t0-tha-men.

It's called "Hoes Ain't Got Time."

This asinine study shows that the higher a married woman's income the less likely she is to do housework.

The study, which is published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, showed that for every $7,500 in annual income a married woman earned, she performed one hour less of housework each week.

This is the most ridiculous thing ever. EVER. So the fuck what? Have they ever done a study about this regarding men? Of course not...because men aren't traditionally the ones to "do" housework.

What a crock of crap. Just angers the hell out of me. And here's the kicker:

"The negative side of it is that it shows just how divided households remain by gender. It emphasized how much housework is the woman's responsibility."

Um...I think the fact that the study was done in the first place is fairly gender biased. It shouldn't all be the woman's responsibility--that's the dang problem. Do a study on that. Ya fucks.