This is What a Republican Feminist Looks Like

Cross-posted from http://eric-jost.blogspot.com/2010/09/this-is-what-republican-feminist-looks.html

Meghan McCain is on her book tour right now, jumping between MSNBC and FOX News to discuss her memoir, Dirty Sexy Politics. Interviewers love rehashing McCain’s opinion of Sarah Palin, her famous father (John McCain), and her support for gay marriage.

Several years into her career as potential political leader and pundit, journalists on both sides of the aisle remain astounded to be talking to a moderate Republican. In fact, in all of the recent interviews I have seen with her, McCain has been required to explain how she reconciles the phrase “moderate Republican,” as though Meghan recently landed on Earth and humans are desperately trying to understand the language she speaks.

I have long been a semi-fan of Meghan McCain. Although it is, admittedly, hard for me to trust someone who identifies with the Republican Party, her outspoken criticism of her party — and politics in general — is incredibly refreshing in a time when bipartisanship no longer exists. I am waiting for the day for McCain to step out of her father’s shadow (as well as Palin’s) and come into her own as a politician or pundit (whichever she chooses). Even if she and I continue to differ on economics, its very heartening to hear a Republican openly support same-sex marriage, comprehensive sex education in schools, stem-cell research, and believes that climate change cannot be solved with more drilling.

Besides financial matters, the issue that McCain and I differ most on is, of course, abortion. But despite her anti-choice stance, she rationally and realistically compensates for it with her full support of contraception and sex education. And it is this reason, in addition with others, that I have no problem recognizing or acknowledging her as a feminist.

Sarah Palin has spent the last few months “reclaiming” the word “feminist” as her own; decrying liberal feminists, like myself, who feel that she is misappropriating the term. While Palin has attempted to convince the world that the only reason she’s not considered a feminist is because of her anti-choice position, I and many others beg to differ.

I have long argued that my beef with Palin’s identification as a feminist isn’t simply because she’s anti-choice, it’s because she has actively gone out of her way to oppress those who don’t fit her preconceived mold of what an American looks like. Despite the tea party’s so-called “live and let live” attitude, I have no doubt that President Palin would push for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, outlaw comprehensive sex education in schools, and rally to overturn the civil rights act (like her counterpart, Rand Paul, has).

How can someone be a feminist if she spends so much time only looking out for herself?

Ann Coulter is another one who doesn’t quite fit the conservative feminist mold. Sure, she’s appearing at a gay Republican event, but she also makes incredibly Islamophobic remarks on a daily basis. Simply being a successful and powerful woman does not make you a feminist. If we applied Palin’s simplistic logic to everything, then we would have to consider Larry Craig as one of the most influential LGBTQ advocates of all time.

Meghan McCain has postured herself as the anti-Palin and anti-Coulter, something the Republican Party, and frankly feminism, needs. Unfortunately, aside from her articles for The Daily Beast, she seems to have difficulty establishing herself as someone other than simply John McCain’s daughter. This could be attributed to the media’s sexist attitudes, seeing as how sons of politicians seem to have no problem establishing themselves as individuals. But perhaps that’s because Meghan hasn’t quite figured out what she wants to do yet, or how she plans to change the world. But when she does decide, I for one will be interested in hearing it.