Feminism in Politics

So...Palin is a feminist?

*sounds of 200 years worth of research and theory and struggle being flushed down the drain*

Ugh. I don't even think I'm going to touch this one. If you supremely believe that Sarah Palin:

a) is a candidate in support of womens'/womyns' rights or affiliated with feminist ideology

b) has even READ anything by Butler or Fausto-Sterling

c) is what a feminist looks like

then this blog can't help you find your sanity. WAKE UP! She's anti-choice, has voted multiple times against giving money to single or teenage mothers in need (and has a teenage pregnant daughter), supports abstinence-only education (and has a teenage pregnant daughter), and even charged rape victims for medical care. Her primary concern is rewarding those with financial privilege. She is no woman's friend.

But its at this junction that I'd to point out a GLARING disparity in the coverage of Palin's nomination as the GOP VP candidate and Senator Hillary Clinton's bid in the presidential race.

Palin is being hailed by many major news sources as an appropriate feminist in politics (for which there is no evidence), whereas Hillary was goaded, criticized, and objectified by the very same news networks. How is it that Palin, a woman whose political experience includes hemmorhaging money from the town of which she was elected mayor is considered more qualified to be in the White House while Hillary, who wrote policy during Bill's 8-year stint in Washington and has since been re-elected as senator is seen as a less-than-human object whose place is to be criticized for showing cleavage during a Senate session?

Hypocrisy, yes. But also, lets remember that these news moguls get pretty upset when someone speaking real change comes knocking on their door saying "The days of the patriarchy are numbered." I for one, believe that neither Clinton nor Obama holds the keys to a progressive future, but if all that is learned from this election is that Sarah Palin is a feminist, I'm leaving the country for good.

SG