I first heard the phrase a while back when Rush Limbaugh's calling Sandra Fluke a disgusting, sexist label was making the news. Scott Simon of NPR was interviewing Michelle Bernard, who is a conservative political analyst. She described the 2008 election as having been the advent of the "red state feminist." That got my attention. She went on to explain that the term encompassed:
...the women who believed that Sarah Palin spoke for them. These are women who, for example, felt like it was OK to stay home and raise children, and didn't want to feel as if they were being demeaned because they weren't out in the workforce. Even those right-of-center women, most polls are showing, are absolutely appalled [by the tenor of debates on abortion and contraceptives by male candidates in Republican primaries].
Though I disagree with Governor Palin's views on many issues and at the time I was working full-time in the workforce, this concept of red state feminism really stuck with me.
I've lived my entire life in so-called "red states." I like to consider myself a strong woman. Or at least I aspire to be such a woman.
I'm also married and have school-age children. My family life is an important part of who I am. Those relationships are more important to me than any professional achievements I may attain.
I've had an interest in feminism throughout my life. But in my part of the country, feminism is one of the two "f words." The label alone is toxic. In the circles I run, I have met very few women in my life time who embrace it. Frankly, most were not women I would choose to emulate.
But I love the idea of a different view of feminism. One that may be more closely in tune with my own values and identity. One that may be more palatable, even more attractive to my neighbors here in the red states.
So I decided to start this blog to explore this idea. And to share observations on gender-based issues. I hope you enjoy this blog. I also aspire that it might make you think.
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