Dismantling the "War on Women" Myth in One Short Interview
NRO has a great interview with Sabrina Schaeffer (very close relation), President of the Independent Women's Forum, that it well-worth reading and saving for political arguments with liberal friends and family. Sabrina dismantles the whole "War on Women" trope here, and there is much more in the book , Liberty Is No War on Women, that Carrie Lukas and Sabrina coauthored:
LOPEZ: How is it “sexist” to argue that there is a war on women? Obviously it comes out of a belief that women should be treated fairly.
SCHAEFFER: The message behind the “war on women” should make women cringe. It assumes that women are inherently less capable than men of learning, working, standing on their own, and caring for their families. Over and over again, women are viewed as damsels in distress in need of a knight on a white horse (read: government) to come in and save them. But I’m pretty sure this is one of those “sexist” ideas our 1960s feminist forebearers were a little upset about. Only now, the paternalistic figure is government rather than a man.
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Nov '11
Re: Dismantling the "War on Women" Myth in One Short Interview
Well said. One might turn this around, too, and argue with more than a little evidence that we have a war not on women but on men. The ratio of male to female college students has steadily gone down since the 70's, according to a recent article in Forbes, and the problem has certainly been discussed elsewhere. The high rate of families without a father is, I suggest, another sign of the diminution of the value of men.
Jun '12
Re: Dismantling the "War on Women" Myth in One Short Interview
Adam Schaeffer: It assumes that women are inherently less capable than men of learning, working, standing on their own, and caring for their families.
· 34 minutes ago
The same could be said about blacks and Affirmative Action.
Jul '11
Re: Dismantling the "War on Women" Myth in One Short Interview
Exactly!
Asking for (Men or Government) for equality is in itself acknowledging inequality....
This entire identity politics game needs to just go away. Suffragist around the world are turning in their graves as we speak...
Jul '11
Re: Dismantling the "War on Women" Myth in One Short Interview
While, I might add, real "women's issues" around the world go unnoticed.
Jan '11
Re: Dismantling the "War on Women" Myth in One Short Interview
I think the Julia ad was a horrific mistake.
Jul '12
Re: Dismantling the "War on Women" Myth in One Short Interview
My wife (a surgeon) was absolutely disgusted by the "Life of Julia" dealie for precisely this reason.
Re: Dismantling the "War on Women" Myth in One Short Interview
There is a whole lot wrong with the old-school Feminist perspective. But I think one of the most amusing things about it is how they define women in the reductive and dehumanizing way that they once accused men and our society of doing . . . women are defined by their uterus, women are delicate wards to be protected by an authority figure, etc.
Apr '12
Re: Dismantling the "War on Women" Myth in One Short Interview
It is a war on women's intellect.
There is a fear that abortion will be made illegal and contraception made illegal. The Right is seen as white, religious men trying to get women back home with five kids, like Romney.
When I read Ricochet, there is this view abortion should be stopped by Government law. The last paragraph of Ms. Scheifer's interview does talk about choosing the size of cup for your sugary drink. So now I get why abortion is tagged pro-choice but this title does not cover moral judgement, education that is not allowed to be given to girls, who pays and who is required to actually do the procedure, and whether the tax payer should even being involved. On Facebook, this is the repeated issue .
I also listened to some podcasts between right and left and contraceptives and abortion were the main topics.
Apr '11
Re: Dismantling the "War on Women" Myth in One Short Interview
A product of the seventies (feminist womens' college, hairy legs, free and frequent sex!), I agree with these observations. I remember adamantly stating, to blank stares, that the first thing I think about most mornings upon awaking is not "I am female..." followed by sub-categories of possible activities. There is no group of Women, I tell you!! While individuals of both sexes have their differences, there is sufficient overlap to cancel out all categories other than the obvious physical ones. There is smart feminism.