Following speculation that Michelle Bachmann would lead a new “Evangelical Feminism,” the Minnesota Representative objected to the “feminist” label, saying instead that she is “pro-woman and pro-man.”
Unlike Sarah Palin, who has brandished the feminist moniker and spoken of an “emerging conservative feminist identity,” Bachmann told me in an interview Tuesday that she wouldn’t call herself a feminist—instead, she simply described herself as “pro-woman and pro-man.” When I pressed her on the matter, the Minnesota congresswoman said she sees herself as an “empowered American.”
Perhaps Bachmann has seen how well Sarah Palin’s embrace of the term worked out for her; liberal feminists scorned her, and conservative men abandoned her. However, for some reason feminism has become such an overriding preoccupation in the United States that everyone seems to think any woman in any position of power or responsibility must necessarily be a “feminist” in one way or another.
Because feminism is all about “empowering” women at others’ expense, it’s an insult to women who have achieved anything to suggest that only feminism is responsible for their success, and undermines their achievements. It looks as though a few female politicians are starting to catch on to this, and avoiding the label for fear that not only could it alienate potential male supporters, but detract from their popular image as well.
Finally, Americans are starting to recognize that feminism is not an inclusive, positive term, but rather a supremacist ideology that justifies oppression for the benefit of a special class of elitist, female ideologues.
