Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Women's issues
In truth, Democrats have learned a lesson that Burk and her dour sorority sisters fail to grasp: That all issues are "women's issues." Women, like men, are concerned about homeland security and winning the war on terror. They want a vibrant economy that produces jobs for themselves and their families. A summer Gallup poll found that women ranked Iraq, the economy, and employment as their top issues for this election. A more recent Newsweek poll of both men and women confirmed that security, terrorism, and the economy are voters' top priorities, which suggests there's no big gender gap on the key issues of concern.
But the feminists keep on fighting yesterday's battles. They fixate on statistical discrepancies like the so-called wage gap, wringing their hands each time the Department of Labor releases data on male versus female wages. Never mind that these figures fail to account for the number of years worked and educational achievement — or for the simple fact that some working moms aren't trying to maximize pay, but want jobs with enough flexibility to spend time with their children.
Professors of women's studies complain that "society" views women as baby machines, but it's the feminists who obsess about reproduction. According to Gallup, just one in twenty women says that abortion will affect her vote. Listen to NOW, and you'd think that abortion is the top priority of nearly every American woman.
The world should celebrate the tremendous strides that women have made in Afghanistan and Iraq, but the Feminist Majority Foundation — an organization that often highlights the truly egregious abuses of women internationally — ridiculed the First Lady for mentioning these gains in her speech. Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal's smug statement ("Don't we wish that all is tranquil in Afghanistan? Instead, violence roams and the United States refuses to provide adequate peacekeeping troops") reveals an astonishingly partisan mindset blind to the progress made for women who had been suffering under brutal regimes.
But the feminists keep on fighting yesterday's battles. They fixate on statistical discrepancies like the so-called wage gap, wringing their hands each time the Department of Labor releases data on male versus female wages. Never mind that these figures fail to account for the number of years worked and educational achievement — or for the simple fact that some working moms aren't trying to maximize pay, but want jobs with enough flexibility to spend time with their children.
Professors of women's studies complain that "society" views women as baby machines, but it's the feminists who obsess about reproduction. According to Gallup, just one in twenty women says that abortion will affect her vote. Listen to NOW, and you'd think that abortion is the top priority of nearly every American woman.
The world should celebrate the tremendous strides that women have made in Afghanistan and Iraq, but the Feminist Majority Foundation — an organization that often highlights the truly egregious abuses of women internationally — ridiculed the First Lady for mentioning these gains in her speech. Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal's smug statement ("Don't we wish that all is tranquil in Afghanistan? Instead, violence roams and the United States refuses to provide adequate peacekeeping troops") reveals an astonishingly partisan mindset blind to the progress made for women who had been suffering under brutal regimes.
