It’s a Pregnancy, Not a Political Prop

One woman became unexpectedly pregnant for a third time. Another woman very briefly considered having an abortion after learning that she was pregnant with a special-needs child.

Both women decided to continue with their pregnancies. Not every woman would have made the same choice, but these women were able to make the decision that was best for them and their families. The first woman had a miscarriage; the second woman had a child with Downs’s Syndrome.

Unexceptional, common stories, right? Except that the first woman is GOP presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann, and the second woman is perennial maybe-candidate Sarah Palin. Both women have spoken publicly about how their very personal pregnancy decisions have underscored their commitment to anti-choice policies and beliefs.  [Read more...]

Beyond Cowgirl Politicians

In last weekend’s New York Times’ Magazine, Rebecca Traister offered what may be the most, if not the only, constructive examination of the two female politicians who will now be forever linked by the January 8th shootings in Tuscon, Arizona.

Whether or not you believe there is any connection between the first assassination attempt ever made on an American female politician and the gun-slinging rhetoric of the first Republican woman ever nominated for the vice presidency, what’s undeniably true is that despite the vast philosophical and intellectual chasms between them, Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and the former Alaska governor Sarah Palin have something in common: they are both cowgirl politicians. In this, they are symptomatic of the too-narrow ways in which the United States is willing to accept women as leaders.

I’m no fan of Sarah Palin, and I’m too ornery to believe that when you criticize one woman, you criticize them all, but I have to admit it was refreshing to read an article about these two women that didn’t somehow pit one against the other. It’s been such a common thread in the commentary since the shootings, much of it far more subtle than the gunsite image marking Giffords’ district on the Palin campaign’s map, that it was almost in its absence that I sensed it most.

That’s one of the reasons why I’m trying to do the same here. My first instinct was to go glass-half-empty and gripe about the ways the cowgirl politician type left real women, well, hogtied. But maybe that’s ground well-grazed. (Sorry, done now.) Though I hope this is only the first of many steps I take towards fulfilling my New Year’s resolution to improve my sometimes too-sour disposition, I will simply say that I suspect no cowgirl politician, real or iconographic, would occupy a place in the cultural imagination if the average American male did not also find the cowgirl in question sexually attractive.   [Read more...]

Stop Co-opting Susan B. Anthony Already!

Sarah Palin has a new book out. Didn’t even know she could read, but it’s true. She’s got another book on the shelves. And the loopy lies about how she’s the rightful heir of the first wave of feminism makes me barf a little in my mouth. Palin claims that Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a conservative Christian, and that Palin is cut from the same mold.

Um, news flash, Sarah Palin. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was anything but a conservative, or a Christian. You’ve probably never heard of The Woman’s Bible (notice how I don’t think you know how to read), but Stanton got the boot from the National Women’s Suffrage Association because she published that book and took a bold stance decidedly against religion. Read a book Sarah, and then get back to me on how you and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are cut from the same cloth.

And while we’re on the subject of my favorite sister suffragettes, can you and all your wingnut friends stop co-opting the memory of Miss Susan B. Anthony? For the love of blog! Susan B. Anthony was not anti-abortion. In fact, she never talked about abortion. Just ask her biographers. Susan B. Anthony may have started out with a broad focus (temperance, abolition, women’s rights), but after the Civil War she was very single minded – it was about suffrage or nothing. To return to the issue of The Woman’s Bible, Anthony would tell people to talk to Stanton if she was asked about it, because religion wasn’t her issue. She kept her eyes on the suffrage prize. If Susan B. Anthony were alive today, she would decidedly be pro-choice because she did make speeches in favor of family planning while she was alive. So read a freaking history book and stop spinning the facts to fit your agenda. [Read more...]

Hypocrisy at its Best: B-Palin PSA on Abstinence

Bristol Palin teams with reality TV star and sex crazed “the Situation“ for a public service announcement and the two have an incredibly fake conversation in support of abstinence. The Situation is a ridiculous choice for the PSA as he stars in the reality TV show Jersey Shore which revolves around going clubbing and finding chicks that are RTF (ready to fuck). And the Situation’s reason for supporting abstinence–because it has the word “abs” in it. If this alone isn’t enough to convince teenagers to be abstinent, B-Palin drives the point home with “trust me, I am not getting myself into another situation.” Does anything ring more disingenuous than a new teenage mom giving advice on abstinence? Apparently not.

Bristol Palin could have done a great PSA that talked about her experience as a teen mom and shared her life lessoned learned, why she thinks abstinence is the best choice for teens and encouraged safe sex practices for those who choose to have sex. That just might be a great PSA, regardless of what you think of B-Palin or her family. Instead, this completely contrived B-Palin/the Situation PSA comes across as a farce–a skit from SNL or the like, rendering its message meaningless.

With the realities of life that Sarah Palin has had to face (disabled child, grandmother to her teen daughter’s child) I don’t understand why the Palin family doesn’t share open and honestly about their lives (since they have chosen to be very public figures anyway). Certainly having a child with down syndrome is challenging for any parent, but Sarah Palin completely downplays the gravity and responsibility of having a child with disabilities. I know several people that have a disabled child, and while everyone I know truly loves and cherishes their child, having a child with disabilities takes it toll. Choosing to give birth to a child that doctors have determined will have a disability is devastating for any parent, and the choice to have that child or not should only be made by the parents. To pretend that the decision is not difficult or has heavy emotional and financial ramifications is to deny the realities of the situation. [Read more...]

Friday News Roundup

Steinem criticizes Palin for using feminist brand. Los Angeles Times.

What It’s Like to Suffer a Miscarriage. Alternet.

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe. PBS.

How Christian Moralizing Drives Kids to Dangerous Sex. Alternet.

Texas GOP says homosexuals should not have custody of children. Spread the word. HRC.

Gloria Steinem with Katie Couric & Stephen Colbert

Gloria Steinem is on a whirlwind media blitz this week. Here she is talking to Stephen Colbert. Gloria Steinem has some pretty compelling reasons why men need to be more involved with their families: better health, longer life, and better sex. Do you really need a better incentive?

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Gloria Steinem
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

Katie Couric asked Gloria Steinem to respond to Sarah Palin’s use of the term feminist. Steinem clearly calls out Sarah Palin and others by try to coop the feminist label by saying that you have to promote women’s rights if you want to be a feminist.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

For more Gloria Steinem awesomeness, check out this post over at The Abortion Gang.

Friday News Roundup

How Do You Talk to Pro-Life Family & Friends? – Abortion Gang
More on Sarah Palin: Who Owns the Feminist Label? – Conducive Chronicle
US State Dept. Approves New Passport Guidelines for People Who Change Their Gender – Dept. of State
An Appeal to the Silent Majority – Abortion Gang

And then here’s a little Good Asian Driver action to kick off your weekend.

TGIF Round Up

Just a few quick links for you today, and a little Tina Fey video treat at the bottom. Have a great weekend, ya’ll!

Poverty & The Pill: The Impact on Developing Countries – New York Times
< ahref="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&vps=1&jsv=239b&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117408617889200578854.000486927aa0069856535" target="_blank">Put Yourself on the Feminist Map
Outcry Over Abortion is About Power, Not Saving Fetuses – The Guardian

You might NOT be a feminist if…

If you look like this, you might NOT be a feminist

After making anti-women policies a hallmark of her short political career, Sarah Palin really wants to be a feminist.

Sarah Palin is making the rounds of the campaign scene, and trying to invent a “conservative feminism” along the way. While many real feminists are outraged at her audacity, few are willing to take a stand against allowing someone like Palin into our ranks. After all, isn’t feminism “supposed” to be about tolerance of all perspectives and all types of women?

Such a stance will only serve to create a world of feminist relativism, where the word means nothing.

There are certain actions that are simply fundamentally anti-feminist, that is, they threaten the freedom, equality, dignity, or rights of a various group of people. Certainly being “tolerant” and promoting “diversity” among our ranks cannot be more important than promoting standards of true equality and progressive social change.

Just being a woman does not make you a feminist, particularly if your policies and positions are blatantly anti-woman. For those who see Sarah Palin calling herself a feminist and are confused about what feminism really means in 2010, I not only argue, but insist, that Sarah Palin is no feminist. And to prevent further confusion I have come up with four sure-fire ways to know if you or someone you love is NOT a feminist: [Read more...]

Adopt For Love, Not Politics

mother and childIn a recent article actor Jim Caviezel said “I always thought if I adopted that I wouldn’t have the same feeling [as I would] if they were genetically my own children. Nothing could be further from the truth.” He goes on to say the adoption of his children “challenged him to speak out more on pro-life issues.”  This makes me wonder what his original motivations for adopting were.

Before I go any further, I want to make sure that every reader understands that I am in no way attacking his ability or quality as a father, but I do question the politics behind for adoptions and more importantly using it to speak out against reproductive rights.

The abortion/adoption debate should be centered on pregnant women and birthmothers not fetuses and certainly not children. We see children’s presence in politics way too often. Seeing them or even hearing from them is not what I have a problem with, but it is the parents the use their children as examples for platform decisions. We saw this blatantly with Sarah Palin’s children during the campaign. Who can forget a pregnant Bristol with her then fiancé at the convention? [Read more...]