Call and Response

Call: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/03/24/ST2008032400084.html

Response: I am an angry feminist. It's a recent development in my feminism, until a couple of months ago, I'd likely claim that I was a plain old, garden-variety feminist. But my buttons have been pushed, and I'm angry.

I'm angered by last week's post article A Vote of Allegiance, which painted us white feminists (although, I've never heard of anyone draw racial distinctions until then) as opponents of the black community. Alice Thomas, Howard University Law Professor, is quoted as saying, "To take a position opposite Barack is to take a position opposite my family and our community." Our community: the black one. Meaning that I, as a Hillary supporter, am implicitly racist.

Despite my low-paying job and my youth, which both may likely disqualify me from having a valued opinion in the public eye, I refuse to sit idly by and dignify her statements. It's seemingly luxurious, and ludicrious, for her to point fingers at us Hillary supporters, and cast us as enemies in the broader discourse. And I'm angered that she'd question my support of the black community. I've been, and remain, an ardent, lifelong supporter of the "community"—much moreso than the average joe caucasian on the Barack Obama bandwagon.

I'm angry at those who dismiss my support of Hillary Clinton and call me a whiner (case in point, Professor Arica Coleman: "I wish people would stick to the issues, and the ultra-feminists would stop crying wolf because their girl is not winning.") I'm angry that I am supposed to deny my gender, something fundamental to my being and self-understanding, but support African American identification with Barack as a black man (which, I do support in case you are wondering).

I'm angry that women like Coleman call Hillary supporters Ultra Feminists, to paint us as left wing man hating nutcases. We've managed to shake the term feminazi, mostly because people don't want to appear insensitive to the plight of holocaust victims and their families, not because they don't actually view us feminists as angry and militant. Last time I checked, feminism isn't like gender, there's no spectrum: you're either on board, or your not.

I'm angry that my friends, strong college-educated, independent women have been silenced and discouraged by the public response to Hillary Clinton.

- Tina P., Washington, DC

Two Haikus

hillary clinton
a total inspiration
bitch? still the new black

barack obama
not as strong as hillary
i'll still vote for you

-Katie S., Washington, DC

One old, long journal entry - for a little inspiration.

March 6, 2008
9:45 PM

On this night, I am giving myself permission to be something other than my usual sarcastic, laid-back self. Well, on paper anyway.

This evening, my friend Allie took me to a reading by her favorite author, Anne Lamott. I have been to a number of genuinely interesting readings over the past couple of weeks, courtesy of my sister and her Pen Faulkner program-planning career, so I figured I'd test this one out. Allie has told me about Lamott’s books many times before: they are non-fiction bestsellers, centered upon self-reflection and discovery of faith. She is a feminist, left-wing, born-again Christian. Her reading was, in short, spectacular. Her voice was steady, slightly raspy, soothing, and her personal anecdotes on President Bush were, in fact, very funny. Not exactly what I had expected walking into Olsson’s Books.

Yet it was Lamott’s statement on anger – a burgeoning need for women to allow ourselves to have and express our anger over the current political climate – that really struck a chord. Not only do I feel angry about the comments that surround Hillary Clinton’s candidacy; I am a bit hurt. I’m not sure that I’ve allowed myself to really feel that way until now.

There are people from all walks of life who are willing to say fairly off-putting things about Hillary. They mask true feelings by suggesting that she is an uninteresting candidate; that she is a simple “Mrs. Bill Clinton” who cannot bring together individuals previously uninvolved in the political game. Have you spoken to the caretaker of a 79 year old bed-ridden woman, who asks how to obtain an absentee ballot for her patient to cast a vote for the first time in 20 years? I did so yesterday – she wanted to vote for Hillary.

Tomorrow, in honor of Anne Lamott I will fight the feeling that I get to suppress my anger when someone gags at the thought that “illegal aliens” might obtain a more permanent place in our society, or exclaims that fat people need to get their act together. I will allow myself to be angry at negative comments about Hillary's fashion-sense, and at the thoughts that anything accomplished by a woman will always be gender-marked as “Best Women’s Literature, Art, Athlete," etc. How about, “Best Literature, PERIOD.”

Because perhaps things are as I fear - that a large portion of this country is afraid that a woman might become the best at anything other than winning brownie-bake-offs and WNBA championships. After all, these competitions are deemed important for women alone.

I am not suggesting that having our first, black presidential candidate wouldn’t be a major, welcome milestone – it would. But living in this country should be better. We should be better. We should treat each other better, and understand where to draw the line between sarcasm... and shitty comments about women.