The Death of Modern Liberal Feminism (And its Rebirth in the Conservative Movement)

The Death of Modern Liberal Feminism (And its Rebirth in the Conservative Movement)

By Robert Eugene Simmons Jr.


It seems only a few short years ago that feminism was a major force for liberals that drew millions of women to vote for the Democratic Party. The narrative constantly pushed by the liberal-dominated media was that the Republican Party and conservatives were all old white guys who wanted their women barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. However, the events of the last few years have shattered that carefully crafted narrative and exposed liberal feminism as merely another liberal movement having little to do with women's equality.

The early feminists of the 20th century such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton did a great deal to advance the cause of women in the USA. Anthony and Stanton pushed to give women the right to vote, outlaw domestic abuse of women, and gain equal pay for women in the work force. Their philanthropic work resulted in great success. The top female CEOs in America can trace their success back to women such as Anthony and Stanton. However, Anthony and Stanton had one defining point of view that would have put them into direct contrast with modern liberal feminists such as Gloria Steinem. Both were fervently and unapologetically pro-life, which is the one unforgivable sin in modern liberal feminism. Instead, modern liberal feminists pin their heritage back to the racist eugenics advocate and Marxist Margaret Sanger. Sanger is generally credited with creating the organization Planned Parenthood and advocating "abortion rights."

After 2001, the feminist movement encountered its first serious speed bump with the advent of political correctness surrounding practitioners of Islam. After the attacks of September 11, we were all told that we needed to respect Islam, its worldview, and its legal systems. However, as Americans started to find out more about Islam, many discovered that they had serious moral problems with Sharia law and its implementation in almost every Islam-dominated country in the world. Americans were generally willing to regard the terrorists as outliers and maniacs, but when they looked into the cultures of allied Islamic Sharia law countries such as Saudi Arabia, they found open pedophilia via child brides, a complete lack of women's rights, and horrific abuse of women codified into law.

The traditional feminist movement was now caught in a trap between political correctness and their liberal political allies. It became unfashionable to critique Islam as an oppressive religion. Furthermore, it was politically unconscionable to actually agree with conservative politicians. Imagine the National Organization of Women (NOW) member put in the position of deciding whether to speak out for women's rights, thus savaging the abuses of Sharia law, or staying silent and remaining with her political liberal allies. If NOW were to oppose Sharia law and abuse of women, then they would be by implication advocates of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in order to liberate oppressed women. both positions were impossible for the liberal feminists. Instead, the liberal feminists, for the most part, chose silence. As more images and videos surfaced of women being beaten, executed, beheaded, stoned, and traded in these "moderate" Islamic countries, the position of the liberal feminists got worse.

The damage to the traditional feminist movement was already underway when, in 2008, the movement encountered pure kryptonite in the form of a politician named Sarah Palin. Palin had everything the liberal feminists had said they were working for all these years. She was a self-made woman with a family, a career, and influence earned through hard work. However, Palin couldn't possibly be a feminist because she was conservative, loved her husband, and, most importantly, was pro-life. The feminist movement had spent decades and untold hours burying the objections of Susan B. Anthony and many other early-20th-century feminists to abortion. What is more, Palin had lived according to her beliefs in deciding not to abort her baby when she found he would be born with Down Syndrome. Palin represented an existential threat to the feminist movement, so they set about trying to destroy her.

The liberal feminists came unglued and became enraged. As a group, they were afflicted with what would later be termed "Palin Derangement Syndrome." The more they found out about Palin, the greater their rage. The woman was attractive, intelligent, successful, happily married, a hard worker, and beholden to no one in the feminist movement. How dare she do all of this without them?

Leftist females went on talk shows and called her a "bimbo," made up things that Palin never said or did to paint her as stupid, and blasted her for the way she dressed and talked. As a libertarian observer, my jaw hit the floor. Anything like this kind of vitriol from conservatives to a liberal female would have been met with the nastiest condemnation and national protests, but it was the feminists themselves who were saying these things about another woman. When the bimbo line failed to neutralize Sarah Palin, but rather strengthened her, the misogynistic and sexual insults came out from the very leftists who had called Republicans chauvinistic just a few years before. On blog after blog, liberal comment-posters referred to Palin with every horrible name for female body parts that can't be repeated in civilized conversation.

When they found out that Palin was, as any good mother is, defensive about her children, the children became fair game to the left. When the pregnancy of Bristol Palin was revealed, liberals saw this as an opening that they might be able to exploit. They blasted Bristol for being promiscuous, though they had no proof that that was the case, and called into question Sarah Palin's parenting skills. Even prominent female commentators were heard "joking" that Bristol was a hooker and laughing about it as if it was the funniest thing in the world. Even the younger children were on the target list. David Letterman passed a joke about a notorious baseball player committing statutory rape on Willow Palin (14 at the time). When an uproar ensued -- not from the feminists, but rather from conservatives -- the liberals passed it off as a misunderstanding, as surely Letterman had meant the older daughter. The fact that the feminists thought that such a "joke" about an 18-year-old girl would be okay was simply amazing.

The 2010 elections put yet another nail in the coffin of liberal feminism. With an unprecedented number of women running for legislative positions, the liberal feminists were in an impossible box. The problem was that those women running for office were conservatives, and those attacking them and pushing rumors of imagined affairs were liberals. When conservatives objected to the misogynistic treatment, liberals blamed Sarah Palin for their own misogyny. Once again, the feminists chose to support their liberal allies and toss principle overboard.

The anti-Palin misogyny reached a peak when Bristol Palin was invited to participate in ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." When Bristol did well on the show, the liberals again came unglued. All over the internet, liberals savaged Bristol, saying she was fat, stupid, and promiscuous. False and disgusting rumors were floated that her dancing partner impregnated her, and other rumors were floated that her mother was somehow rigging the voting. One liberal even went so far as to shoot his television with a shotgun and threaten to do the same to his wife when Bristol advanced to the finals. Finally, death threats against Bristol were sent to the ABC studios. Once again, the liberal feminist groups were nowhere to be found.

Finally, the feminist movement has completely dropped the ball on the new TSA security measures in airports. Only a few years before, if you had suggested that TSA would be able to take what amounts to porn pictures of any woman they care to select out of line at an airport, the feminist movements would have been howling for blood. However, comment cannot be found even on the NOW website about the searches when it should be front-page news for women's rights. Did they call out Obama to stop the scans, which he could do with a phone call, or did they back their liberal political allies and sacrifice their values? They chose their allies and are remaining silent.

The liberal feminist movement is dead, or at least transformed into a leftist abortion rights advocacy group with little interest in any other women's issues here in America or elsewhere. They simply have no credibility anymore when speaking about equal rights or misogyny in politics or corporate America. If you would have told someone twenty years ago that by 2010 the defenders of women's rights would actually be conservative women, they would have said that you were nuts. However, that is indeed the reality. It is now up to conservative women to pick up the sword and fight for equal rights for all women in the world.

All right, all right, to amuse Charles and myself, I'll take the bait. Are you implying...................... .............that the Pro-Life movement via Sarah Palin and Sharia law derailed the American feminist movement?

Sorry to tell you this, but feminism is here to stay. Feminism isn't "Femi-Natzies" like Rush calls us. Feminism is about the empowerment of women.

Did it ever occur to you that if feminists had our way, we'd be doling out birth control in multiple forms so abortions would become a non-issue for the most part? Feminism isn't about reproduction. I don't care what neo-con propaganda is trying to force feed it's zealots.

I thought feminism was letting the lady get on top.

Hey Chuck, pass the popcorn.

That article reads like a teenage boys blog

Feminism is about getting more taxes from 2 parents and putting your child in daycare. It's about debasing the feminine Principle/essence in favor of masculine traits and emasculating the males. Women and men can't produce children if they hate each other (Battle of the Sexes, anyone) and become gay. More eugenics posts from Mashall, I see.

Hey Chuck, pass the popcorn. Originally Posted by Mazomaniac

Here ya go. Be careful, it's buttered, like the OP.

Ugh, Sarah Palin..

I thought feminism was giving her at least one orgasm, before popping my cork and then politely asking for her to make me a sandwich before I take a nap, but agreeing to wash the plate after the nap, if she would be so kind as to pick it up from my chest after I fall asleep.

Perhaps I am not as evolved as I thought?

All right, all right, to amuse Charles and myself, I'll take the bait. Are you implying...................... .............that the Pro-Life movement via Sarah Palin and Sharia law derailed the American feminist movement?

Sorry to tell you this, but feminism is here to stay. Feminism isn't "Femi-Natzies" like Rush calls us. Feminism is about the empowerment of women.

Did it ever occur to you that if feminists had our way, we'd be doling out birth control in multiple forms so abortions would become a non-issue for the most part? Feminism isn't about reproduction. I don't care what neo-con propaganda is trying to force feed it's zealots. Originally Posted by OliviaHoward

A couple of things: First, I don't listen to Rush but believe that caught flack over the "Femi-Nazi" term over 10 years ago and stopped using it. OK, I just googled it and it appears that he has "shied away from it" and hasn't used it in years.

I believe the "Feminism is here to stay" is the basis of part of the article. Where is Feminism (specifically NOW) when women are walking around in burkas/Hajib and treated like second class citizens? You can't say "That's just in the Middle East" because its happening here. When that guy in Buffalo cut his wife's head off because she wanted a divorce where was the public outrage from NOW and women? It was almost an implicit approval of the act because they did want to get involved in a Non-WASP situation. First link I found: http://janeqrepublican.wordpress.com...tes-his-faith/

Here is categorically a hate crime against women and I haven't heard a peep from NOW or the US AG or Muslims and not much by the media. Last I read one of the guys partners or co-workers knew he beat his wife regularly and didn't say anything because it was his right as a Muslim. Pathetic.

Don't much care about the abortion aspect of Feminism that is one of their sacred cows. Women made strides in "the workplace" but they'll never make as much as a man in general for a number of legitimate reasons. (Mmmm, I wonder if male prostitutes bitch if they make less than female prostitutes).

Again, if Rush called Michelle Obama a "twat" like Bill Maher did Sarah Palin, the media would be demanding his sponsors stop supporting his show.

There's just odious double standard among the self-professed feminists and feminists organizations who are demanding air time.

Finally, I don't agree there is a "conservative" Feminists movement. There are a number of politically active women like Palin but they aren't embracing the Gloria Steinman/NOW version of Feminism.

I thought feminism was giving her at least one orgasm, before popping my cork and then politely asking for her to make me a sandwich before I take a nap, but agreeing to wash the plate after the nap, if she would be so kind as to pick it up from my chest after I fall asleep. Originally Posted by phatdaty

Either that or not making her sleep on the wet spot.

Perhaps I am not as evolved as I thought?

Thats a given for all of us.

Its a very onesided article lacking any form of intellectualism (that is claims to have by pretending to talk about feminists and leftists and defending my favourite dumb bimbo Sarah Palin). There are many feminist movements. Which one is that article applying to? I consider myself close to sex positive feminist (if at all) or rather being a humanist. I consider feminism generally out of date. It broadens the gender gap, plus many of the young hipsters nowadays have rich sugardaddies and suck cock for jobs and then claim they are independent and feminists. :-))) aaaaaarghhhhhh...... its a phrase similar to being sexpositive. No one seems to have a clue anymore of what it REALLY means.

So, since that article obviously has no clue of what kind of feminism or what movement he is relating to. There are several streams of feminist movements - some of them very contradictionary to each other.

So - from an intellectual point of view this article is a bunch of hogwash not even knowing the basics of definitions. "Traditional feminist movement" ?? I never heard of this definition to be a legitimate one for any feminist movement? "liberal feminist movemen" - same here - ahm isn`t feminism per definitionem liberal?? why then add it before the term feminism? Why Oh Why??

Phrases such as:
"They blasted Bristol for being promiscuous, though they had no proof that that was the case, and called into question Sarah Palin's parenting skills"

ah hello? that was not the point of the critics of sarah palins educational skills. My god what a lousy article. The point in criticising sarah palins educational skills was because she is a hypocrite. She is against sex education in school (rumours have it she is mormon as well? ) and against sex before marriage . and Her own daughter proofs her own claims to be far away from reality because - well - given a proper sex education her daughter would have used condoms? And not ended up pregnant with 15? or 16? Jesus. Because Bimbo seems to think if you avoid talking about a topic (e.g. sex) and just close your eyes and ignore it completely (preferably like a small child crying "bababababababababa" and closing eyes and ears) then the topic itself goes awas. Great strategy!!!! (lol). ANd that strategy was proofen to be wrong. Plain and simple.

As to Sarah Palin being a Bimbo: You don`t need to be a leftist or a feminist of whatever kind of feminist movement to see that. "Russian Pravda" called Sarah Palin a "pith-headed Bimbo from back beyond" so , i don`t see Russian Pravda being partucular any kind of feminism. IF an article is a proper research with any intellectual qualities it should be at least capable of QUOTING its sources. You always see a clear distinction between personal hogwash and an effort to research when it comes to QUOTING your sources. It has not been "the leftists" that coined that very accurate description of Sarah Palin, it was russian Pravda. Are they leftist? Ah no? (Oh and just because its russian and ex communist does not make it automatically leftist - stereotypes aside - also russians are capable of differentiated opinions :-)) and several streams of political movements....)

Just my five cents. Research is hard - i know. Good articles even harder.. I know as well. :-) (Question: Did Sarah Palins press spokes person write that article? Or was it even herself? Or the one that writes her lousy speaches? .....)

phrases such as:
"it became unfashionable to critices the islam as an oppressive religion" lack insight. Oh and YES - some streams of feminism DO criticise it Still. ALice Schwarzer in GErmany. Oh and btw: which religion is not oppressive against women? Sarah Palins mormons? The ones who believe that a woman can only enter celestial kingdom via marrying a mormon man? Alone a woman is worth nothing? Ah yes, talk about Islam and being an oppressive religion. Go figure ;-)

And it was really hilarious when Palin said that there are 57 states. LMAO.




Oh wait. My mistake, that was Obama. NM.

ooops ...seems i was almost right with thinking that this article was almost written by sarah palin...
let me see: http://conservatives4palin.com/2010/...-movement.html

(note: conservatives for palin - i think that is the essence of the article - would have been a better and more accurate title of that original article...IMHO)

the beginning of the article:

"In his piece, Simmons backs up much of what Governor Palin wrote in her latest book, America by Heart. Here is an excerpt from Simmons’ piece:"

Bingo - so - it was herself or her press speaker then ;-)) quoting her own book.