Jessica Valenti on Sarah Palin and Feminism

Fun factoid: Sarah Palin got a lot of publicity when she spoke to the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List recently and appropriated the feminist label, calling for a "pro-woman sisterhood." The president of the Susan B. Anthony List - an organization that has used unbelievably vicious language about abortion rights in some of its direct mail - is a woman named Marjorie Dannenfelser, who formerly owned the house I live in. Interesting - same first name, diametrically opposed politics (her husband, Marty, is a right-winger as well). She's nice in person but her organization is hateful and shamefully distorts the facts and abuses the ideal of feminism.

Jessica Valenti, the founder of Feministing.com, provides a good analysis of Palin's remarks to the Susan B. Anthony List in the May 30 Washington Post Outlook section, which I'll summarize here (anything in quote marks and italics is from Valenti's article in the Post) :

After telling CBS's Katie Couric in 2008 that she was a feminist and then telling NBC's Brian Williams that she would not "label myself anything," Valenti writes that today, Palin is

"...happily adopting the feminist label...It's not a realization of the importance of women's rights that's inspired the change. It's strategy. Palin's sisterly speechifying is part of a larger conservative move to woo women by appropriating feminist language."

The anti-abortion tactic of saying abortion "hurts women" is pretty well known and never fails to enrage me - I'd say non-consensual sex and an unwanted child hurt a lot more. Valenti brings up another mind-boggling bit of nonsense - the Independent Women's Forum argument against addressing pay inequities: that "the salary gap is a result of women's informed choices - motherhood, for example - and that claims of discrimination turn women into victims." Are women identifying with their oppressors?

So, Valenti asks, why do women listen to these pseudo-feminists? Because Palin and others align themselves with the suffragists and are "not-so-subtly saying that women in America have achieved equality. In fact, they don't believe that systemic sexism exists." In other words, we have the vote - what more do we want?

How does Palin rally women if everything is fine and dandy? By painting "actual feminists as condescending hypocrites who simply don't believe in young women" and who - by supporting abortion rights - send a message to young women that they're not strong and capable enough to have a child - an unintended one - and pursue their education and career at the same time. Holy mother, it's not about equality - it's about convincing young women not to have an abortion!

Valenti continues:

"So Palin's 'feminism' isn't just co-opting the language of the feminist movement, it's deliberately misrepresenting real feminism to distract from the fact that she supports policies that limit women's rights."

Valenti makes a few other good points - "feminism" encompasses a tremendous range of viewpoints, no one owns the label, saying you're a feminist doesn't mean you act like one (ie, feminists can be bigoted). But bottomline, "certain things are inarguable" - "Feminism is a social justice movement with values and goals that benefit women. It's a structural analysis of a world that oppresses women, an ideology based on the notion that patriarchy exists and that it needs to end."

We who ARE feminists need to reclaim the term for real. We can't let Palin and her buddies steal what we have worked so hard to establish, in word and deed.

At the Virginia NOW state conference recently at James Madison University, we talked about feminism. One student said that the challenging thing about women's studies is that once you have knowledge about oppression, you have a responsibility to do something about it. I think about that a lot when young women tell me about the discrimination they face in the workplace...when the UVA lacrosse player got killed by her violent ex-boyfriend...when I think about how hard it is to raise a child in a family-unfriendly society such as ours. Once you have knowledge, you have a responsibility to act on it.

Sarah Palin has no knowledge - and the only action she's taking is trying to get publicity and possibly get elected. We have to stop her and the other so-called feminists who oppose fundamental justice and equality for women.

Talking About Sex

We need more talk about sex. Funny coming from me - I never uttered the word vagina until I saw the Vagina Monologues in my 50s (which basically forced me to say it). Did I ever willingly talk about sex to my kids? I shuddered at sex-talk in movies. Clapped my hands over my ears. But once I started talking - relatively recently - it was easy to say all sorts of words that I hadn't said. (What's hard is trying not to get hung up on those words - italicized here. Gotta be an adult.)

A couple of things triggered these thoughts. One was the story the other day about the British goverment issuing a pamphlet recommending sex for teens and for older people as healthy, good exercise, fun. The British?? Exemplars of stiff upper lip. Another was watching the HBO series on John Adams on DVD - the sexual relationship that he and Abigail had was so happy. And they were so horny when they spent time apart. And the July 21 Politico story about those miserable hypocrites in the C Street "Christian fellowship" house - John Ensign, Zach Wamp - and their soulmates, Larry Craig, Mark Foley, David Vitter, Mark Sanford. And their upright enablers - Tom Coburn, Sam Brownback. What's the fellowship about, exactly? Protecting adulterers?

Mostly, though - and here's the feminist bit - it was reading Jessica Valenti's Full Frontal Feminism that did it. I'm reading this book to try to figure out what Third Wave feminists think. So far as I can tell, it's the same as Second Wave Feminism- but bolder, raunchier and definitely with lots more sex. And the more sex words she used, the more I got comfortable.

Jessica and Wave 2 share concerns about reproductive rights, workplace issues (pay and job equity), violence, gender stereotyping, outrageous physical excesses such as obsession with body image (make-up's ok if you like it), politics (get women elected and good men), global issues such as CEDAW, all that stuff NOW and Fem Majority hammer away at all the time. (Did I miss it - no mention of the Equal Rights Amendment. That would be a big departure from Wave 2.)

But Jessica is much more into sex. Major endorsement of masturbation as a sexual norm. Funny piece about words for masturbation. Major section on cultural perversions such as "Girls Gone Wild." Lesbian sex is fun to try, even if you're not lesbian. Feminism makes for better sex, she says - because feminists are into themselves and their bodies and feel (like men) that anything is good in search of an orgasm. (As an aside - this is funny - the mega-bestseller author Nora Roberts says, "a day without [French] fries is like a day without an orgasm.” Make of that what you will.)

Jessica says:
"Feminism tells you it's okay to make decisions about your sexuality for yourself." She also stresses - be responsible.

"And perhaps most important, feminism wants you to have fun. Sex isn't just about having babies after all, despite what young women are being taught."

And this: "Full frontal feminists make sure you can get off."

Now I may be wrong but I really can't recall a NOW conference where we talked about sex in that way, with such enthusiasm. But as I said, I can't recall - so it certainly could have happened before I got involved or I just could have missed it. There was one great Arlington NOW meeting around Valentine's Day where we did a great quiz about love and sex -very pro both. That was fun. But bitching about abortion rights and such isn't talking about sex.

So maybe in re-energizing and re-organizing NOW, we need to talk about sex. Have talk-about-sex parties. Have sex advisers. Share sex tips. Talk sex. Not abortion - not sex ed - SEX.

It would be fun. Like sex, fun is good for you!