Evangelical Feminist

[Chrystal-J]

(CNN) - If Hillary Clinton, the woman who came closest to becoming a major party presidential nominee, is a feminist icon, could something similar be said of Michele Bachmann, who officially launched her presidential campaign on Monday?

Bachmann is seldom described in those terms; the conservative Minnesota congresswoman and Tea Party darling might cringe at the feminist label.

But some religion and politics experts say that she exemplifies an evangelical feminism that is producing more female leaders in Christian nonprofits, businesses, and education and politics, even as more traditional gender roles prevail in evangelical homes and churches.

Continued on...

http://religion.blogs DOT cnn.com/2011/06/27/michele-bachmann-as-evangelical-feminist/?hpt=hp_c1

[deelaem]

Michelle Bachmann is NOT a feminist. Times a hundred. Being a woman in a position of power does not a feminist make. Her current role is being a handmaiden to the patriarchy.

[mirele]

Michelle Bachmann is NOT a feminist. Times a hundred. Being a woman in a position of power does not a feminist make. Her current role is being a handmaiden to the patriarchy.

This.

[Chrystal-J]

From the article:

This idea of women being out in the world when they’re doing God’s work – that’s the key,†says Griffith, who is author of God's Daughters: Evangelical Women and the Power of Submission. “You have to be called.â€

Yes...how is she suppose to "submit" to a man (I'm assuming husband) and be the leader of the country at the same time? So, if you're "called", then you no longer have to "submit"? ...I don't get it. :?

[valsa]

She's nowhere near a feminist.

Feminists are those who work to create equality between men and women in society. This woman is someone who uses her position of power to enforce and strengthen inequality. She's an anti-feminist.

[dcmhejbl62]

GOP candidates for big offices tend to be more like frontmen, puppets, designed to draw votes from a large part or certain segment of population rather than people with the knowledge, skill, intelligence, integrity, and good judgment to do the job. Those people (if they exist, lol) are all behind the scenes making the actual decisions.

I am not as well-versed in democratic politics, but there does seem to be a difference in that regard. Hilary Clinton had the name and connection advantage, but she also certainly had the qualifications in her own right. That's why they could slap her with the label "Feminist."

[debrand]

I see her as being a hyprocrite. She would gladly keep other women from being able to make choices on birth control or working outside the home. Yet, unlike some of the fundies that we cover here, she does not want those limits for herself. She wants freedom to make choices but wants to deny any choice that is different than hers

[Witsec6]

She's nowhere near a feminist.

Feminists are those who work to create equality between men and women in society. This woman is someone who uses her position of power to enforce and strengthen inequality. She's an anti-feminist.

I would add that feminists want to right inequality EVERYWHERE: racial, class, and cultural as well as gender inequality. Bachmann, even if she were working towards equality between the sexes (and she isn't), would only be working for the upper middle-class.

[Soldier of the One]

This. This is why I prefer the term egalitarian to feminist because I strive for social equality on many levels.

And no, I don't think she's a feminist. The sad truth is that 'minorities' can very well market their own oppression. Apart from that, I think politically powerful women like Michelle have more to gain from social stratification than from gender equality. I wouldn't be surprised that if she would be pressed in a political discussion, that she would defend some kind of submission or a mild version thereof.

[bananacat]

Feminism has paved the way for Bachmann and made it possible to be where she is right now, and she wants to take that opportunity away from other women, or at minimum stop progress in its tracks. She's certainly not a feminist, nor is she submissive the her husband (because then he would essentially be running the show and governing for her). She's a greedy grifter and scam artist who gets money and power by saying whatever she needs to. Same deal with Palin.

[The Archivist]

The mere fact of being a woman, even an ambitious one, does not render someone automatically a feminist. Just as being a man does not automatically render someone a misogynist.

I despair for the media sometimes.

Feminism has paved the way for Bachmann and made it possible to be where she is right now, and she wants to take that opportunity away from other women, or at minimum stop progress in its tracks. She's certainly not a feminist, nor is she submissive the her husband (because then he would essentially be running the show and governing for her). She's a greedy grifter and scam artist who gets money and power by saying whatever she needs to. Same deal with Palin.

But exactly.

[quinoa]

Tangentially related: The Life in a Shoe lady actually wrote a post about how she didn't vote for John McCain because she didn't think a woman (Palin) should be in a leadership position. I guess she just didn't vote, but it's funny to imagine a fundie inner struggle about whether to vote for Obama to keep a woman out of higher office.

[Austin]

This.

+2

She will only ever carry water for the patriarchy, like all the rest of her ilk.

But beyond that, why doesn't it bother so many people (enough to elect her repeatedly, at least) that she is batshit crazy?