Why Sarah Palin Offends Feminists

First Female Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sparks Debate

Sep 27, 2008 Victoria Anisman-Reiner

The selection of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as Republican VP candidate may look like a step forward for women, but feminists are enraged by McCain's choice.

McCain's choice of Alaska's Sarah Palin as running mate has many touting the "new feminism" of the Republican party – and other voters furious.

Left-Wing Feminists Criticize Palin's "Anti-Feminist" Platform

As far as the feminist left is concerned, Alaskan governor Sarah Palin has one thing going in her favor – she's a woman. But her gender does not automatically qualify her as a worthy candidate for U.S. vice president, nor does it ensure that women will vote for her.

As Gloria Steinem writes (in her Los Angeles Times opinion, "Palin: wrong woman, wrong message"), "Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere." (1) And that's not what Palin's voiced beliefs – or her short track record in office – show as her priorities.

Palin's first allegiance is to Alaska: "We want to make sure that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things we're trying to accomplish up here…" (2) Her other priorities:

• Palin is outspokenly anti-abortion and anti-choice.
• She may be anti-free speech: Wasilla librarian Mary Emmons says Palin discussed whether the library would be open to censorship during her term as mayor.
• Palin is a lifetime member of the NRA.
• Palin is anti-environment: she has advocated aerial sport hunting of bears and wolves, is in favor of drilling in protected areas, and is currently suing the federal government for listing polar bears and Cook Inlet beluga whales as endangered species.
• Palin is inexperienced and, worse, she lacks awareness of the international field in which she could become a key player. She received her first passport in 2006 and has left the U.S. only once since. (3)
• Palin has criticized Hillary Clinton for championing women's rights, winning no friends among feminists who supported the Democratic candidate.

Ultimately, however, anger at the selection of Palin as Republican VP candidate falls squarely on McCain, who would seem to be using Palin to create divisiveness and confusion.

What Was McCain Thinking?

Republican supporters argue that Palin's lack of experience in office serves to highlight Senator Obama's similar inexperience. Yet where Obama is knowledgeable about world affairs, Palin's lack of concern for the international situation or, for that matter, any policies that extend beyond her state, only serves to set her up as a "yes-man" (or "yes-woman") in McCain's campaign.

Steinem says, "This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need." (1) Palin is controversial precisely because she is a woman who espouses the anti-women politics of the gun-toting, Christian right – encouraging left-wing feminists to overreact in response and harm their own cause.

In such terms, McCain's choice of Palin as his running mate becomes an obvious ploy to discredit feminists, pit the left against itself, and promote further divisiveness not only among women's groups but between the left and the right.

Palin is likely little more than a Republican retort to Hillary Clinton and a dangerous gambit to confuse the left… but whether the move was most dangerous to Democratic hopes or for his own campaign remains to be seen on November 4.

Reference:

(1) Steinem, Gloria. "Palin: wrong woman, wrong message," Los Angeles Times, September 4, 2008.

(2) "What is McCain Thinking? One Alaskan's Perspective," Mudflats, August 29, 2008.

(3) Bender, Bryan and Sasha Issenberg. "Palin not well traveled outside US," Boston Globe, September 3, 2008.

The copyright of the article Why Sarah Palin Offends Feminists in American Affairs is owned by Victoria Anisman-Reiner. Permission to republish Why Sarah Palin Offends Feminists in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Sarah Pallin, Republican Veep Candidate 2008

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Comments

Sep 26, 2008 11:23 PM

Leigh Hopkins :

As a feminist, I'm not only offended by the choice, I'm truly saddened. Her interview with Katie Couric drove in the point that so many people would love to continue to make...that women can't be leaders. She should never have been put in this position--it's not fair to Sarah Palin, and it's not fair to us.

Sep 27, 2008 3:46 PM

Lizz Shepherd :

As a feminist, I'm not angry about her, much less "enraged." She has her opinions and her own viewpoint and that's what women have fought for the right to have. I don't agree with her viewpoint, but she has every right to it.

Oct 3, 2008 5:45 PM

Guest :

I am offended. Sarah Palin is grossly unqualified for this position. The RNC is throwing another distraction at us to avoid discussing real issues. I am willing to concede that she is an individual who is entitled to her opinions, but to imply that she is a reasonable candidate for the 2nd highest office in the US is truly insulting. I think she is a symbolic pawn being dangled in front of the American people. The insult is that the RNC will attempt to tout her as a feminist.

Oct 5, 2008 5:57 PM

Tania Kidd :

Sarah Palin is everything we never wanted in a high-ranking political representative of this country. Moreover, she is a horrible role-model for young women. Her cutesy little wink and flippant nod of the head during a formal debate made it appear that she was flirting with all the beer-belly Joe Six Packs sprawling in front of the TV. Maybe that's what high-ranking women in Alaska are expected to do - - but it's certainly not the ideal female VP.

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