Say, do you like fun? I know I don’t! That is why I am not at tonight’s fun event for ladies, the Roe on the Rocks benefit, starring the incomparable Sara Benincasa and oh, many and many a lovely band. HOWEVER. Let’s assume you’re a sad and lonely person who reads the Internet to get your kicks. In that case, we have much more in common! And may I present you with this article I wrote up, about the Phyllis Schlafly?
As far as careers go, a girl couldn’t wish for a better one than Phyllis Schlafly. Much sought-after public speaker; respected author, published many times over; powerful activist, who has changed the course of major legislation; a godmother, one could argue, to a huge movement of dedicated, vocal, professional women.
Seriously. I tried to write this without being pointlessly mean at all. Because, you know, not serving our points and whatnot. Which, since Schlafly is the woman who got Betty Friedan to tell her that she ought to be “burned at the stake,” was tough! Look at me, raising the bar. I… think? Although I do sort of blame her for Sarah Palin. Which is enough for any one person to live with, I would think.
4 Comments
Baha! You’ve found me. It just so happens I AM a sad and lonely person who reads the Internet to get my kicks. One day, I hope to reach the end of it, until then, I’m more than happy to sit on the sidelines in a comfortable armchair, being witty – or not – as I see fit.
Great article!
Falsehood/evil/etc are often self-defeating in such ways. A nice case in point here that you’ve articulated brilliantly.
i decided to read about ms phyllis on wikipedia before reading your article, as i didn’t know who she was (should i be ashamed?). ignorance aside, though, your article was incredibly well-written and insightful. i just want to say, well done. i wish she’d read it.
I feel I’m sad and pathetic but not so much lonely!
I would just add that it strikes me that Schlafly’s hypocrisies also very much fed the rise of, rather than the stay at home mom as professed, the massively overworked mother. While Schlafly’s stated goal may have been the proliferation of the stay at home mom, didn’t the sabotage of the ERA do a tremendous amount to ensure that mothers have to work more rather than less? If you can’t get a decent wage that’s comparable to that of your male counterpart, if your health insurance won’t cover contraception, if you can’t get decent maternity leave, if you haven’t gotten decent sex education… then your fucking shit out of luck when it comes to spending more time with your children. And you are not in a position to enjoy the luxurious hypocrisies of the powerful women named in the piece. You’re just plain old fashioned fucked. And you’re very much Schlafly’s progeny, just as these celebrity ladies. You just get a fuckload less attention. The hand that has no goddamned time to rock the cradle sure as hell isn’t ruling the world.