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Y! MyWebCOMMENTARY
Palin's politics, treatment appalling
Thursday, October 02, 2008
When Sarah Palin stepped onto the Nutter Center stage Aug. 29 to an enthusiastic welcome, I had little inkling what a predicament she would prove for many feminists.
No, I'm not talking about the question of whether or not to vote for her. Despite the historic nature of her nomination, I don't know of a single feminist who would vote for a candidate based on gender alone. Many feminists are appalled by Palin's politics, yet equally appalled by the sexist treatment of her candidacy.
"I believe she is dangerously unqualified, but that's not a free pass for misogyny," said Rebecca Whisnant, director of women's and gender studies at the University of Dayton. "She has been routinely sexualized by supporters and detractors alike. Doctored photos have shown a bikini-clad Palin sporting an AK-47. Her wardrobe has been scrutinized more thoroughly than a foreign policy brief.
It's enough to make Palin long for the days when she was vilified for becoming the ultimate working mom. "Her five kids would be unlikely to have been an issue with a male vice presidential candidate," Whisnant said. "People assume a man has someone else to do the daily work of taking care of a family."
No doubt, it's disheartening for women to witness the born-again feminism of some of the same folks, from Rush Limbaugh to the ultra-right Independent Women's Forum, who have spent the past two decades skewering Hillary Clinton. Imagine the outcry if Clinton had compared herself to a pit bull, or adopted "Barracuda" as her theme song. "It's galling but not at all surprising," Whisnant noted. "Anti-feminist men love anti-feminist women, because they offer a legitimizing face to their politics."
Mary M. Morgan vehemently disagrees with Palin on the issues, yet finds herself defending her. "I don't like her positions on things that are extremely important to women — sex education, child care and reproductive rights," said Morgan, 83, of Yellow Springs. "Yet I hear an awful lot of what I think of as sexist complaints about her." Morgan knows what it's like to be a pioneering woman in politics: "In 1969 I was the first woman to run for Dayton City Commission, and I know how difficult it is to be a 'first.' You get labeled as a crazy lady. I remember the Dayton Daily News characterized me as campaigning from sewing circle to sewing circle."
Morgan was disappointed McCain didn't tap a "more skilled and knowledgeable" woman such as Olympia Snow, Christine Todd Whitman or Kay Bailey Hutchison. "McCain is trying to get the ultraconservative wing of the party, so he overlooked senators and congresswomen who would be far superior," concurred 90-year-old Gertrude Chasens of Yellow Springs. "I think Palin is a disaster every which way, for women or for men. Yet I hate to hear her called a bimbo. She should be attacked on her principles, not her gender."
In other words, feminists should speak out loud and clear if they disagree with Palin. And they should speak out just as loud and clear at any misogyny directed against her.
Leave it to these trailblazing feminists to point out that when it comes to Sarah Palin, there's no predicament after all.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2209 or mmccarty@DaytonDailyNews.com.
