So after taking a brief hiatus from writing out blog rants in response to reading or seeing something that makes me go WTF, the holiday weekend inspired a new one! Did you all catch the Elizabeth Wurtzel post in The Atlantic, where she posits that Sarah Palin is a Riot Grrrl?!
Yeah, blah blah, Sarah Palin is definitely not a feminist, and I caught all of those internet responses. But, for me, that’s not really worth any mental space to even debate. But what is worth a debate is: Why are Democrats - including, and perhaps more specifically, the progressive left - not giving more platforms to their own fiery and opinionated women, but, you know, specifically the ones who are also smart! (See: Unlike the ladyspeaker phenomenon on the “right.”)
You should click here to go read my whole take on the issue. (That is, if you like swaggering and smart women, and are interested in what’s up with them not being given more platforms!)
Just to give you a preview, I was able to end with a paragraph somehow mentioning Meghan McCain, Sarah Palin, Riot Grrrls and Ann Richards all together, while clearly placing them on which sides of righteous babe, or not, they fall. Fun fun!
But for every Meghan McCain the right has — born into power and access, with no real knowledge of anything, but with a platform due to who her daddy is — the left isn’t rising to the occasion with a smart and outspoken feminist who believes in progressive policies and actually knows what she’s talking about. The country is changing, and the faces of political power we put out there better start to match it. Sarah Palin definitely is not a true Riot Grrrl. But she has at least proven that talking points and poll driven messaging are not the only ways to get people to listen. I can only hope the progressive side of this country eventually realizes the lesson and more so highlights their own outspoken, off talking point script, female voices. The American public is clearly eager to see an Ann Richards born in modern form. Those progressive women are out there. Now the question is whether we’ll get to hear their voices.
For full rant and an awesome retro pic of Ann Richards, check it here.
