Why Sarah Palin is Bad for American Women

Last month we brought you the McCain Misogyny Roundup.

Now here's our companion piece: Why Sarah Palin is Bad for American Women

We're not going to be spending time on how her friends aren't voting for her, or her abuse of power for personal reasons, or what a local Wasilla resident has to say about her, or that she isn't really a fiscal conservative, or that she doesn't seem to know much about the government she wants to help run. Instead we're going to focus on issues that directly affect women and families. We'll be adding to this list as more information comes out.

Sarah Palin supports teaching medically inaccurate and unsuccessful abstinence-only sex education in schools.

Sarah Palin believes women who have been raped should be forced to carry their rapist's child to term. If you agree with her on that, you need to watch this. Moreover, as mayor of Wasilla she appointed and supported a police chief who charged rape victims for their rape kits. More proof on her role in charging rape victims. Before you jump on the idea that this has been debunked, read this and this.

Sarah Palin fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan because he worked to get federal money to support a program to work on reducing Alaska's high sexual assault rate.

Sarah Palin believes creationism should be taught in schools alongside evolution, despite the fact that the U.S. already trails other countries in science education.

Sarah Palin does not support protecting the environment for our children and future generations. Palin does not believe that human action (and inaction) cause global warming. She also fought to keep polar bears off the endangered species list and to allow pollution of salmon streams, and is in favor of drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.

Sarah Palin supports restrictions on information. Palin asked the Wasilla librarian if she would be willing to censor books, and attempted to fire her when she said she would not. (The librarian was not fired after protest from the community.) This has not been debunked. Here is confirmation on this from the New York Times. Palin has also refused to give access to Governor's office emails that refer to political foes and non-policy topics, claiming executive privilege.

Sarah Palin has apparently made openly racist statements.

Sarah Palin cut funding for teen mothers.

Sarah Palin is presented as an "every-woman" or "every-mom" but she comes from a position of privilege, and most American women do not have her advantages. For example, here's a brief run-down on the expense of being a "hockey mom". The "every-mom" media story surrounding Palin leaves out a lot of moms' experiences, and Palin's unwillingness to help other mothers have the same range of choices makes it even more destructive.

The real message of Palin's candidacy, the meta-message, is that women in power are fine as long as they appeal to a sexualized male gaze and support the policies that have largely kept women out of positions of power.

Will Palin be fighting for paid sick leave so that working parents can take care of their sick children? Will she promote nationwide pre-school or programs to help single parents get subsidized child care? Will she back a universal health care policy to ensure all families have medical coverage? Will she oppose John McCain and fight for equal pay? Those are real family-friendly policies, and you won't see any of them from a Republican administration. Ask Palin her positions on issues that affect American families.

Of course, there are also arguments out there that her very presence on a Presidential ticket is good for women, but over twenty years after the first major-party female VP candidate, and after generations of conservative efforts to hold back progress for women on social, economic, and political fronts, the Republican discovery of feminism and sexism seems more like a co-opting of terms than real progress.

Oh, and just so that we can state it clearly yet again, sexism against Palin is just as bad as against Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton. You can look through posts under the "politics" tag to see our many posts calling out sexism against Sarah Palin.
Shakesville's Palin Sexism Watch
Michele Obama Watch
We defend her from sexism not because we support her or her policies, but because that's how feminism works.

Comments

[JL]

Hillary/Palin ticket would of been the best for all. Atleast women can have their say and vote Sarah!

[tiggrrl]

Thanks, but no thanks. I'm going to "have my say" by voting for a ticket that actually cares about the issues that affect me, and that isn't going to set progress back and make regular women's lives more difficult.

Remember, there are still progressive women candidates out there, so even if you feel a need to "vote vagina" you don't have to sell your soul by voting for McSame.

The Green party is running two progressive women of color in this election; check them out: http://www.gp.org/index.php

[Linda SF]

One of two teams who will lead the USA in the next years: Obama/Biden or McCain/Palin. Period.

Please view this Youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEN-c0zRH1c&NR=1

Unbelievable! Compare her to her male colleagues. 'Gender card' clearly isn't an issue here....

Please forward to friends who are still trying to make their decision in this election.

As we are hearing, Palin could be "a heart attack away from being president". She certainly will have McCain's ear.

Bear in mind there are a few Supreme Court justice who may retire in the next four years. Roe - v- Wade could be influenced by this election.

[Annie]

I'm incredibly disappointed. As a Gender Bias/Media Literacy and Sexual Violence Educator, I often use & share valuable information from your site with my students & parents alike. After reading this article on Sarah Palin and seeing the blatant, blatant distortion of facts, I have to wonder what other information I've received here is completely false. Despite the fact that I'm not a Palin fan, I am however ~ a fair-minded person who does my homework. I have the good sense to research at the VERY least... urban legend websites (for starters!! LOL..c'mon NOW!!).... and reputable, factual non-partisan sites & reading materials. I feel it's very irresponsible and so disappointing that NOW would post complete fabrications, distortions of truth and actual lies regarding this person. Regardless of political party, TRUTH is CRUCIAL. As an educator, it's of utmost importance to empower my students with TRUTH. Furthermore, I wouldn't want my party to win an election due to the fact that I had any part in perpetuating complete lies about a candidate's record, beliefs, or visions. Please, I would urge NOW to be honest with its loyal supporters. Supporting or not supporting a candidate is fine. Distributing information to the masses that is false is not.

[CA NOW]

As you can see, we have provided links to the sources for all our statements. Our sources include the Washington Post, New York Times, Associated Press, Mother Jones magazine, and other reputable sources. We have yet to see any of those sources discredited. We therefore stand by the statements contained in this article.

[educated_woman]

Gloria Steinem would be ashamed of you women!

[tiggrrl]

Gloria Steinem did an article herself about how terrible Sarah Palin would be for American women.

You can read it here: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-steinem4-2008sep04,0,7541303.story