(Cross-Posted, slightly edited, at Silence Isn't Golden)
I'm a bad feminist!
There, I said it. In fact, I'm such a bad feminist that I can hardly be considered one at all. I shouldn't be in my room blogging right now, I should be in the kitchen or in the laundry room.
I already had one strike against me due to the fact that I see no conflict between being a feminist and wearing makeup. But in a New York Times column today, feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem further reminded me of my unworthiness on the grounds that I don't support Hillary Clinton for President.
So why is the sex barrier not taken as seriously as the racial one? The reasons are as pervasive as the air we breathe: because sexism is still confused with nature as racism once was; because anything that affects males is seen as more serious than anything that affects "only" the female half of the human race; because children are still raised mostly by women (to put it mildly) so men especially tend to feel they are regressing to childhood when dealing with a powerful woman; because racism stereotyped black men as more "masculine" for so long that some white men find their presence to be masculinity-affirming (as long as there aren’t too many of them); and because there is still no "right" way to be a woman in public power without being considered a you-know-what.
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What worries me is that some women, perhaps especially younger ones, hope to deny or escape the sexual caste system; thus Iowa women over 50 and 60, who disproportionately supported Senator Clinton, proved once again that women are the one group that grows more radical with age. . .
It’s time to take equal pride in breaking all the barriers. We have to be able to say: "I’m supporting her because she’ll be a great president and because she’s a woman."
Implication: Young women who support Obama are at best naive about sexism and at worst are actively hurting the feminist movement. Because if we were REAL feminists, we'd want to use our votes to break the gender barrier. Otherwise, we're just putting the racial barrier before the gender barrier (and oh yeah, that's why we're supportng Obama, it has nothing to do with his policies or his record, it's all for racial or generational reasons).
I am well aware that I would not have any of the opportunities I have today had it not been for the gains made by the women of my mother's generation. The fact that I won't be considered a spinster if I'm not engaged by the time I graduate college, the fact that I can go to law school and embark on a successful career, the fact that I can control my own sexuality--none of this would be possible without the women's liberation movement.
And I am well aware that the fight is not over. Our reproductive rights are still under attack, women still get paid less than men for equal work, and domestic abuse and rape are still as big of problems as ever.
And I am even well aware of the huge leap forward that electing a woman president would be for this country, I even admitted it when I was still toying with the idea of supporting Hillary.
But in the state this country is in, to say that you should vote for someone strictly because of their gender is madness (and with all due respect to Ms. Steinem, that's exactly what she's saying we ought to do. She gives lip service to "Hillary has more experience" and spends the rest of the column talking about the need to break the gender barrier). You have to vote for the candidate whom you think will be the best for America, not just for women. Remember, it's not just the traditional "gender issues" that matter to the average American woman today. There are also the little matters of Iraq, the economy, and health care, all of which affect women in so many different ways. I looked at all of the candidates and decided that Barack Obama would be best. Other women decided on other candidates, for their own reasons. Electing ANY of the Democratic candidates, whether Hillary, Obama, or John Edwards, would be a huge step forward in undoing the damage done to women in the last seven years.
So don't tell me I'm a bad feminist just because I don't support the female candidate. I admire and respect Hillary Clinton for all that she's accomplished and all that she's been through, and she'll certainly have my support in the increasingly-unlikely chance that she wins the nomination, but I simply do not believe that she's the best candidate for America right now. We will have a woman president soon, in my lifetime I believe, but it has to be the right one.