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| Photo courtesy of mniebuhr.com. |
Amy Siskind’s post, “Is ‘Feminism’ Going Chapter 11?” reminds me of the sense of betrayal I experienced in 2008 when ‘feminist’ friends and acquaintances first trashed Hillary Clinton in the primary and then Sarah Palin in the general election, seldom pointing to specific areas of disagreement. Instead, the first words out of their mouths were usually, “She’s a bitch.”
I’ve moved on from most of those friends and acquaintances since then, but I’ve continued to refer to myself as a ‘feminist.’ Siskind’s logic is breaking through today, and I’m wondering if it’s time for me to declare myself pro-woman. In her final paragraphs, she directly addresses my category as a former Clinton supporter who left the Democratic Party in June 2008, although I did not head for the Republican tent. Instead, I re-registered as non-affiliated. Now I’m about to give up my card-carrying status as a ‘feminist’ and exchange it for the pro-woman designation. Siskind writes:
And what of Clinton supporters? The legions of women who felt they no longer had a home in their party. Among Clinton supporters, there was a rather widely held view that women’s groups (and many feminist) were either ineffectual or complicit in Clinton’s demise, preferring candidate Obama. The women claiming the mantle of feminism did little to heal these wounds, excoriating Clinton supporters for their criticism of President Obama. One particularly spiteful Obama supporting feminist coined the term “Clinton dead-enders” for those loyal to Clinton, leading the charge for more Clinton supporter bashing and exclusion.
Since most Clinton supporters were silenced and had no means to act out, they chose instead to act in. More like a raft afloat. Each wave washing them further from political ideology. 2010 was the first year since exit polling was taken that women went GOP. But a closer peek, reveals a truth: Women, 60 and Over, the largest and most reliable voting block, shifted from +6 D in 2008 to +12 R in 2010. The second largest voting block, Women, 45-59 went from +10 D in 2008, to tie. These are Hillary’s women.
There is one place that is making a home for all women, and that is the Pro-Women Movement. It’s last call for feminism: go inclusive or go extinct.
Read Siskind’s post in its entirety here.
Another issue with the women's movement Is man bashing for behaving badly while letting woman off if they do the same thing, this just alienates men from being more supportive.
ReplyDeleteI wrote about it Here.