Feminist Leanings

If I haven't said it enough on here, or out loud in frustration, exasperation, or excitement, here it is again: I am seeking what it means to be a true feminist. And how to balance feminism and Catholicism, two interrelated aspects of myself. This search takes up space in the back part of my mind almost constantly and on some occasions rises to the surface.

Yesterday, my mother saved a newspaper article for me about the rise of a new feminism. The headline reads, "Evangelical women create their own brand of feminism." (The online version has about 3 different headlines, none of which are quite the same as the print one.) It's a trend I noticed two summers ago during my internship with SFLA. Women bringing their femininity to the forefront as they rise to power on the Republican side of the aisle. I went to an event on Capitol Hill hosted by Concerned Women for America, one of the groups mentioned in the article. (We were subsequently evacuated from the Capitol building.)

According to Miller, this new branch of feminism combats the traditional left-leaning of feminism by presenting strong women with strong right-wing tendencies. These women also see traditional "family values" (specifically marriage and motherhood) as a source of strength. I love that women are complicating narrow notions of feminism, especially the idea that a feminist is pro-choice; I want to be, to use Miller's phrase, a "pro-life butt-kicker."

However, this new brand of feminism does not satisfy me. Apart from the obvious problem that I do not subscribe to many conservative ideals, I have fairly significant issues with other aspects of the movement that Miller describes. Michele Bachmann, the example of the new feminist, "credits her professional success to the submission of her will to Jesus and her husband." The new feminist is "a Christian wife and mother, above all." Marriage and motherhood are beautiful, valuable, and important vocations. But attaching supreme value to them excludes many women called to other vocations. Some women are single or have no children for now; others are single and have no children as more permanent state of life. They too belong under the umbrella of feminism.

So I thank Bachmann and Palin for their contribution to the discussion surrounding feminism. I'm glad they've come to the table and posed questions and challenges. They just haven't given the answers for which I am searching.