Feminist or not, Liberal Men must fight against the GOP’s War on Women
March 26, 2011 by William K. Wolfrum
I am a feminist. I understand that some may argue with that or claim I am a poor example of a feminist - I am far from perfect in this self-assessment. But I do understand the movement, and at very least work to be a feminist ally.
I have no fear of the term “feminist.” It’s demonization has little to no affect on me. There is not one part of me that is lessened by my feminist beliefs. As much as I can proudly state I am a liberal, I can state that I am a feminist.
And now is the time for more Liberal men to stand with feminists.
Right now in the United States, Conservative men are picking apart the rights of women. Conservative women are either actively involved, or staying out of the debate. Across the nation, this war against women’s rights is accelerating. The web magazine Mother Jones has done an excellent job reporting on these attacks, including stories on:
- Arkansas attempts to restrict abortion access;
- A GOP Bill that would force IRS agents to perform “Abortion audits;”
- A South Dakota bill that would essentially legalize the murder of doctors who perform abortions;
- The GOP’s attempts to defund Planned Parenthood.
Mind you, these are but a scant few of the attacks against women that are happening now at both the state and national level. If anything has taught us that a main part of the Republican agenda is to take away the rights of women, it’s their actions since the November elections. An all-out war against women has been declared.
And it’s going to be a rout if liberal men don’t take up these causes with the same fervor as their feminist allies. Women will lose control of their own bodies.
Whether or not men reading this consider themselves feminist is of no interest to me. But the rights of women should be of great interest to us all. It is time for us to join this fight, because without the help of male allies, Conservative men will have their way, and women will no longer have control of their own bodies.
In the end, all I can do is commit myself to be a greater part of this fight and plead that more men join the cause and stand by women in this war against them. I am a feminist. Whether you are matters not. But if you are a man that consider himself a liberal, this is a fight that must be joined.
-WKW
Thank you very much for this. As a feminist, and as an ally for other social justice work, I understand all too well how hard it is to be an effective ally (hell, I even wrote a post about it earlier this week).
I haven’t gotten down and dirty yet on the whole anti-choice thing, because I’ve only recently come back to political blogging and am just getting my feet wet, but I definitely plan a post about it next week.
I really, really love Margaret Atwood’s writing, but I would just as soon that A Handmaid’s Tale remain fiction.
Tremendous post (as usual), Bill. Thought-provoking, frustrating & ultimately motivating. Here’s hoping your words are heard — and acted upon — before too much more damage has been done.
Some ‘same work’ more equal than others?