Some good comes of everything: Katie Botkin

[MamaJunebug]

Her recent blog post about her leftist feminism is a joy indeed. And as for the "some good comes of everything" snark? Well, if I had never heard of her uncle Geoff Botkin, I might never have heard of Katie.

And she is a treasure.

kbotkin.com

[KittenMitten]

She is a treasure indeed.

[ariel9]

:pink-shock:

[Marian the Librarian]

I'm quoting Katie Botkin's latest blog post here in its entirety - because it's simply too good not to.

I’m a liberal feminist.

Ok, I’m more of a straight-up leftist really, because liberals are kind of wussy and they tend to be corporate sellouts if you’re talking actual politics. I don’t like the term liberal unless by liberal you mean generous.

So I’m a left-leaning feminist, with a career and stuff. You know, Matt Walsh’s worst nightmare. Rush Limbaugh’s nemesis. I believe birth control should be covered under health insurance, because… duh. It’s really basic medical coverage that regulates a slew of health problems at a very marginal cost and thus certainly makes sense from a financial perspective. And also because Matt Walsh and Rush Limbaugh don’t get to dictate how many kids any other person should have or when other people get to have sex, which is really about the only reason not to cover it.

But here’s the thing that might blow Matt Walsh’s mind: I believe this, yet I don’t take birth control. I’m personally opposed to taking it. I’m not just a feminist, I’m a health-nut feminist, and health-nut feminists aren’t into putting artificial hormones and chemicals in their bodies if they can avoid it.

Maybe I should also mention: I hate power suits with shoulder pads, I don’t wear combat boots, I’m not a lesbian, and I’ve never taken a queer theory or gender studies class. Also, I was a virgin until I got married. Just as long as we’re discussing stereotypes.

I don’t have tattoos or body piercings or blue hair. I am conventionally pretty, at least from a body-size standpoint. I teach ballet and I practice gymnastics. I wear makeup and I have a closet of dainty dresses. Beautiful high heels make me drool. Intricate carpentry makes me salivate. I love steak and potatoes and bacon and I eat butter by the stick. I think vegans are funny and misguided. I love children. I’d be a stay-at-home mom if I had my own. I know how to shoot a gun. I date men’s men; the kind with muscles and innovative business ideas — and I’m supportive of their business ideas and verbally admire their muscles. I pay taxes. A variety of taxes. I also pay health insurance premiums, though I rarely if ever cash in on them.

None of these things have squat to do with feminism, in case you were wondering.

Feminism is the idea that women should have equal rights as men, and vice versa. That women should have equal access to education, equal pay for equal work, equal health coverage. That women should not be abused for being smaller (or bigger) any more than men should be abused for being smaller (or bigger).

Feminists, including hard-core leftists, have different views on pretty much everything else under the sun. Because feminism isn’t some religion with a unified creed you recite every Sunday, and it certainly doesn’t require that you kneel and hold out your tongue for the Eucharist of birth control, as Matt Walsh appears to think. It’s an idea; “I have a dream†where people are seen for the content of their character rather than the content of their bras.

Next question?

Once again, color me astonished that she shares so much as a smidgen of DNA with her cousins the Botkinettes.

[ghost]

I'm quoting Katie Botkin's latest blog post here in its entirety - because it's simply too good not to.

Once again, color me astonished that she shares so much as a smidgen of DNA with her cousins the Botkinettes.

Or the content of their jock strap.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Katie is awesome. How could someone like her come from the same genetics as the Botkins.

[browncoatslytherin]

i followed katie's blog because i love it! and her :)

[ThisOlGirl]

I'm still convinced that there was some sort of switched at birth thing going with the brothers Botkin. I don't know anything about Katie's dad, but judging by the way Katie turned out, I'd bet he's a far better parent than that undertaker brother of his. Geoff Botkin creeps me out.

[Hane]

I have the very strong feeling that, if the Robotkins had been raised alongside Katie, they'd have turned out much like her.

[nausicaa]

I have the very strong feeling that, if the Robotkins had been raised alongside Katie, they'd have turned out much like her.

Me too. Katie echoes "what might have been" for Anna Sophia and Elizabeth. I actually think both of the Botkin sisters are very smart, very well read, and fairly well educated. It's just that their manipulative, megalomaniacal father got a hold of them when they were young and used them as pawns in his patriarchal sales pitch. Now, approaching thirty and with no job skills and a fairly well-known persona based on a very counter culture, specific belief system, the two women have no choice but to double down on what they've said in the past. Most of us get to change our beliefs as we grow up with a fair amount of flexibility and limited scrutiny, but due to their fame, business, and family, they really don't have this option, unless they completely upend their lives. Makes me sorta sad for them really.

[formergothardite]

I have the very strong feeling that, if the Robotkins had been raised alongside Katie, they'd have turned out much like her.

That is exactly what I thought when I read her blog post. We are seeing what the Robotkins had the potential to be if they had not been brainwashed by Daddy Dearest the Duck Biologists since birth.