Zatera Ul

Hugo Schwyzer on Laura Bush calling herself a feminist:

What heartens me about the First Lady’s use of the term to describe herself is that it serves as a useful corrective to the “I’m not a feminist, but…” view we hear so often from conservative young (and not so young) women. By embracing the word feminist — and at least some basic feminist principles (like the right to education and self-determination) — Laura Bush gives women who might previously have paused before calling themselves “feminists” permission to take the leap and use it to describe themselves. By making the term more acceptable to women on the center and the right of the political spectrum, she does more traditionally progressive feminists a huge service. How many feminist organizations, how many women’s studies classes, may see a boost in interest and enrollment now that the immensely popular First Lady has given feminism her explicit imprimatur?

Not very many, I’m guessing.

Here’s one reason (missing its links) why I still refuse to call myself a feminist:

Hey Laura, if you’re really a feminist then why not tell hubby to stop rolling back women’s rights? Or to stop trying to overturn Roe? And as Erica Jong asked before, “why [are you] promoting freedom for women in the Middle East when the rights of American women are being systemically eroded by [your] husband’s initiatives?” And while you’re at it–please stop saying girls are bad at math.

Naturally I think it’s important that women identify as feminist–but not at the expense of the quality of the movement.

By which she means the movement to secure unlimited, fully subsidized abortion rights in the U.S., I guess. Those poor oppressed Middle Eastern women are just going to have to wait.