Laura Bush is a feminist the same way G.W. Bush is an environmentalist.

Laura Bush calling herself a feminist reveals her adept insight per the use of language.
The philosophical maxim goes “If it’s everything it nothing�
If she is a feminist, then everywoman is a feminist: If that is true, then feminism has no distinct meaning and cannot be maintained as a functioning idea.
{not unlike the subversion of the definition of marriage}

"Hey Laura, if you’re really a feminist then why not tell hubby to stop rolling back women’s rights? Or to stop trying to overturn Roe?"

How do you know she hasn't?

"And as Erica Jong asked before, “why [are you] promoting freedom for women in the Middle East when the rights of American women are being systemically eroded by [your] husband's initiatives?� "

So you're saying that she should ignore rights in the middle east, where women are far more oppressed than they are in the States, and focus more on women in the US?

If she is such a feminist, why does not she come out against the draconian ban on abortion passed by the SD legislature a few months ago, the one that makes no exception for rape, incest, or the health of the mother?

It is politically easy to posture about oppressed women in the Middle East and Africa. Going against the right-wing Bible-thumpers who are a menace to women's physical and mental health, is quite a different story.

"And if women are educated, then they're more likely to be able to make wise and healthy decisions for their children."

Not necessarily for themselves. I think that's a bit of an insight right there.

Laura Bush advocates education for all, but especially for women...

"And if women are educated, then they're more likely to be able to make wise and healthy decisions for their children."

Not necessarily for themselves. There's a clue.

How pathetic. Mrs. Bush can't be a feminist because she supports the right to life? She doesn't believe that the brutal murder of unborn babies should be left up to the mother so she is supposedly against all womens' rights? I may be a women but I do not have the right to murder.

Womens' rights over here are not being threatened. The women in the Middle East have and are beaten in the streets for not covering their face and ya'll are complaining about not being legally allowed to kill your kid or what ya'll love to call a "parasite."

Men and women are not equal so get over it. Is one sex better than the other? no. But that doesn't mean we are equal. Guys can do stuff girls can't do and girls can do stuff guys can't do. That's life.

Gee, I think Laine deserves a medal for originality. Or at least a cookie for effort...

I think you're mistaking equal for equality, which means TREATED EQUALLY; and please explain how NOT having a choice about what any woman can & can't do with her body isn't a threat to women's rights here? AND, I don't think anyone was saying the rights of middle eastern women should be ignored, but it's an easy out for Laura, an easy side for her to take; she'd be a real asshole if she didn't think we should do more for women in the middle east. Voicing herr opinion - publicly - over a controvertial subject is much riskier, and she doesn't have the guzungas for it.

I see two positives here:

A widely known and liked (although not by many on here) conservative woman has identified herself as a feminist. Isn't there a lot of posts on here lamenting the fact that today many young women don't identify themselves as feminists. She didn't back away from the label like it was some awful liberal curse.

She is actually working on womens issues. It may not be a much as you want. It may not be in the manner in which you would do it, but it is something. If she makes the lives of women just a little better abroad, isn't that progress?

You don't have to think of her as the face of feminism. And you can question why she doesn't do or say more about the rights of women here. But give her props for helping certain aspects of the movement out.

she is not saying "girls are bad at math". that's reductionist and incorrect

it IS true that there is signficant evidence that women, on average are less skilled at math and more skilled at language. we had a endless thread about that very topic

laura bush is the first first lady (dept of redundancy dept.) in the history of the USA to hold a masters degree (hillary clinton had a law degree btw, which is technically not a masters degree but u get my point). prior to Ms. Kerry's infamous announcement, laura bush HAS held a "real job" prior to first lady, not to mention that Mother is a real job, unless you believe simone de beauvoirs famous quip "women should not be allowed to stay at home because if they are allowed that choice, too many women will choose it" (im paraphrasing, but you get the point).

as somebody who is prochoice myself, it is NOT (imo) inconsistent to be a feminist and be anti-choice (or prolife depending on yer rhetorical tilt). i realize for many it is a litmus test, but it is not a litmus test for feminism, or for political parties (lots of pro-choice republicans. several spoke at the repub convention - guiliani, arnold, etc. whereas none who were antichoice spoke @ dem convention).

laura bush is a role model for millions of women, and (unlike her husband) has always had stellar approval ratings for i think very good reasons

she is intelligent, strong, caring, and just because she may not meet the Patented Litmus Test (tm) for many feminists, she is a very admirable person imo

I actually agree that someone can be a prolife feminist...for themselves, but I can't wrap my head around it when legistlation mandating what women across the board can and can't do is thrown into the mix.

I am prochoice because i believe (certainly in the case of the first trimester), that any "rights' a fetus has to live are soundly trumped by the right of a woman to abort it. It's that simple.

But i can certainly understand how somebody can be agaisnt LEGAL abortion (not just as an individual choice) and still be a feminist. I fail to see this as the litmus test many people want it to be. It is not even necessarily a very good left/right litmus test (although true ON AVERAGE) , because some very far left people happen to be against any legal abortion, for instance.

Anyways, *if* one believes the Status/Right/whatever word u want to use of the fetus outweighs the right of the woman to abort it, then one cannot support legal abortion . That of course is tangential to whether one thinks roe v. wade is good law. That is aquestion of constitutional interpretation, not one of legal policy.

We mandate all sorts of stuff as to what women can do "across the board" even when there is no 'third party' e.g. the fetus. i don't think the fetus is a person. it is certainly SOMETHING, so i'll call it a party

there is this idea that there is legal precedent for not confining what "women can do with their own body" (or men for that instance)

we tell women/men they can't

1) sell their own bodies for money in exchange for sex acts
2) sell their own organs for profit (they can donate them out of the goodness of their hearts though)
3) take any drugs they want to, or even drugs that they can find a MD to prescribe (since the DEA and FDA regulate what drugs a Dr. can prescribe)
etc. etc.

so, while i am prochoice, i have issue with some of the rhetoric that there is some kind of sacrosanct right (either in policy, or in the constitution) to do whatever one pleases with one's own body. *if* one believes that (whether from a policy or constitutional angle) , then clearly one must believe that prostitution should always be legal, any form of pornography (take that McKinnon), paid organ donations, and all drugs should be legal too.

that's at least consistent.

I'm not a big fan of the Feminist Police, but I'm afraid that anyone who stays married to a man who actively hates women isn't much of a feminist.

amen, sister.

I don't know, Jessica, I don't think I agree with you on this one. I remember right after GW was elected, Laura was on the Today show and told Katie Couric straight out that she didn't believe Roe should be overturned, and I haven't seen anything that leads me to believe she has ever changed her opinion on that, or that she has ever supported a roll-back of women's rights. I also think we need to be careful how much power we are ascribing to Ms. Bush -she is the President's wife, not an elected official, and we have no way of knowing how much influence she has over the President's opinions/actions.

Maybe I'm gullible, but I like Laura. It seems to me that she has always tried to speak her truth as well as she can.

..."You can't tell me that mothers and fathers don't love their daughters," she said.

Yeah, and I suppose it's out of love that some fathers kill their daughters (honor killings) after they've been raped.

Laine obviously believes that victims of rape or incest should be forced to carry the child to term, no matter what their own mental state may be. After all, it was probably the sluts' fault that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time...

What a piece of shit!

I'm not judging the First Lady, but there are some points which have been missed in all the spouting off....

First, the article you linked didn't quote her as saying "I am a feminist", it said, in part:

...identified herself as a "feminist" on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," tacitly agreeing with noted historian Carl Anthony...

People seem to be reacting to the label, rather than the description of she has done: support education for girls and women around the world. What's wrong with that?

Second, please show where Laura Bush claims to be "the face of international feminism". Yes, she's a woman, and yes, she's very visible. She hardly seems to be leading any parades. From what I've seen she seems to be handling her circumstances with dignity and class.

Third, who owns the trademark on the term "feminist", and the views one must espouse in order to take that label? You gave a laundry list of political statements you ask her to make. Is she not allowed to have her own viewpoints, even if they differ with yours? You even imply that she brings down "the quality of the movement"...

Hey ladies,

Remember Laura is married to George, "Stand by Your Man". Reserve your pity for Barbara who knows that 75% of America considers her to be the mother of 4 SOB's.

Thank you for your consideration,
Craig

Shes married to george bush. He hates women. I dont care if she has political clout or not she is still allowed to divorce the bastard. And/or speak out against him. Sorry, but if you really cared about women, you wouldnt be willing to be married to a misogynist asshole.
on top of that, she walks around and smiles looking like a stepford wife. shes scarily robotic.
and its not particularly surprsing shes she first with a masters degree when you think about how most women before her and hillary's time didnt even get a college education much less post grad education. that was a stupid point to make if you have any knowledge of history whatsoever.

Not all of the negative hype of feminism is from the "traditionalist". I have feminist values but refrain from calling myself "feminist" because of the zealots out there that have promoted the idea of female schovenism. I agree women have EQUAL right as men but many current leaders would want you to believe they should have more, or are better than men. To me, that puts those women in the same class as the male schovenism that oppressed women for so long. As a whole women are not greater than men, men are not greater than women, and no race is superior to another.
I say this as I had just read the responses from leading feminists about Laura Bush. It saddens me that a strong educated woman with deverse ideas is not "good enough" for mainstream feminism because she does not embrace abortion as a "choice". Neither do I nor many independant women I know. I have never seen a platform that explains away the idea to me that destruction of innocent life is "okay". It reminds me of the Roman Catholic idealology that if a people did not "convert" it was "okay" to kill in the name of God.
I would rather know that my brother was alive and well adopted with a loving family, then killed purposefully in my mother's womb then dumped in a biohazard bag. Why? Because my MOTHER decided her convenience and choice was more important than his life.What a shame. Imagine what he could have been.