Sarah Palin seems to be everything the Republican Party could ask for: she regurgitates the party line, seems popular and is a woman. It would appear electing the first female vice president could make history. In an age where "feminism" is a dirty word, Palin makes it more user-friendly. Although it appears this could be a major step for women, Palin would bring women three steps forward with her election and six steps back.†
In Palin’s speech she lauded the shattering of the "glass ceiling" and conjured up images of women finally getting the right to vote. This is a great idea all women can get behind, but it is hypocritical in that John McCain dismissed the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would have legalized "equal work, equal pay," by claiming it would "open us up to lawsuits," when women just need more education and training.
This is a slap in the face to women everywhere, and is evidence that women are believed to be under-qualified for work and should not get the same pay as men. Women will never breach the glass ceiling if governed by such sexist ideas.†
Abortion is a controversial issue and an important part of every election, frequently obscuring other more pressing issues, such as the economy. Palin’s unorthodox position on abortion is truly abominable.
In 2006 Palin claimed she would not support her daughter, or anyone else, in obtaining an abortion even in case of rape. While the nation is nearly split on whether abortion should be legal in all or most cases, 81 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest.
The only way Palin would support abortion would be if a doctor determined the mother’s life was at risk. Her views are intolerable, especially to victims of rape or incest.†
When Palin was asked in a 2006 gubernatorial questionnaire whether she supported sex-education programs and distributing contraceptives in schools, she responded with, "The explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support." Abstinence-only is a failed policy operating on backward ideology instead of logic.
Nearly half of teens have sex before they leave high school, and just hoping they won’t have sex by providing inaccurate information and leaving out important options is not proactive.
One could argue this view facilitates girls having children accidentally. Although Palin claims she is "pro-contraception," this is another case of Palin toeing the party line and not thinking critically about the subject.†
Palin claims to be feminist, but wants rape victims to be forced into having children and wants teenage girls to be denied knowledge of contraception.
Feminism is about empowering women, not taking away choices. This is especially terrible when coming from the group of people who call feminists "Feminazis" and associate them with man hating and baby killing. It seems convenient to use feminism "positively" to gain female votes, even though Palin’s feminism is a charade.†
Corgey, a political science senior, can be reached via [email protected]
