Sarah Palin Just Wants to Empower Women

I just read an interesting article titled "Sarah Palin is Not a Feminist" over at the Huffington Post about a speech Palin gave for the Susan B. Anthony list breakfast. While the article itself wasn't all that interesting, I found the possibility that anyone could ever believe that Sarah Palin is somehow the new voice of feminism entertaining to no end.

Palin's speech was essentially one vapid talking point after another (like all of her speeches), but this part is just special:


First, I'd like to know when being "pro-life" has ever equaled "pro-women." Also, Obama is the "the most pro-abortion president who ever occupied the White House?" Really? Then of course we get a nice little lecture about how real feminists are pro-life. Palin even says, that being "pro-life" is some how equal to "empowering women by offering them a real choice." What? Palin, you can't just say things and make them true.

And I just love how Palin tries to paint the "pro-life" movement as the ones who truly care about women. Them man-hating feminists think women are just weak and incapable of raising unplanned babies, but not this Sarah Palin. No sir. Her and her posse are actually trying to "empower" women by taking away their bodily autonomy and forcing them into childbirth.

Pic by Walt Jabsco
From the article:

You simply can't be a feminist if you don't support a woman's individual rights. Announcing a "new conservative feminist movement" without acknowledging the individual freedoms of women won't cut it. This feministic facade that actually takes aim at women's rights should be seen for what it is.

Anything less than supporting women's full individual rights simply renders you a pretender, a fake, a feminist fraud.

What I find most insulting about Sarah Palin's feminist posturing though, is that fact that she once again compares her situation with that of all other women. I'm not saying that having a special needs child is not difficult for Sarah Palin. Obviously it is. But the options available to Sarah Palin, especially considering the fact she was Governor when she got pregnant, are NOT the same as what the majority of women who decide to get abortions have available to them. There are not the same thing. Not in any way. To imply otherwise is disingenuous at best.