Once upon a time in the future past, when women hated each other for independence of thought, a devastating ideological war erupted over the size of their eggs. One side, the Femocrats, believed that all politicians must answer to them, or be banished. They advocated for liberal representation from male and female politicians, with an emphasis on recruitment of like-minded women to achieve parity.
The other side, the Vagicans, endorsed a “parity over policy” philosophy of equal representation, believing that a Magic Number of women in politics, regardless of ideology, or anything else, for that matter, assured feminine empowerment for all.
Needless to say, members of these respective factions couldn’t stand each other. They sniped, they snarked, they bickered, they carped, they brought out the worst in each other. In effect, they canceled each other’s efforts out.
Unfortunately, while the Vagicans and Femocrats happily sniped and snarked themselves into irrelevance, another group, the Stepfordists, were busy 
undermining both groups in any way they could. Stepfordists believed in the superiority of some women (them) over every other woman, and the subservience to males for all. Having no compunction about using the Dirty Tricks of Their Masters to assert their own feminine dominance in service to all men, they happily infiltrated wherever they could, and enthusiastically subverted where they couldn’t. In the end, their strategy prevailed; the Femocrats and Vagicans battled to a draw, and the Stepfordists, as always, lived happily ever after in accordance to their belief in the Natural Order of Things.
The end.
![superwoman_cd[1]](http://cinie.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/superwoman_cd11.jpg?w=320&h=320 "superwoman_cd[1]")
Anti-feminists, supported by the Mormon establishment and the evangelicals, gamed the system to crush ERA on behalf of the male power establishment.
They opposed equal rights and status for women preferring to support their version of the unique condition of each gender.
They hyped the fear of gay rights, women in the military and an end to alimony. They were organized while the great muddle of women in the middle were confused by their simplistic and “reasonable” claims.
I suppose they no longer oppose women in the military since it helps sustain their beloved wars. Things will change if women are subject to the draft. But that,s another story.
Anyway, it is just dumb to form a coilition with with those diametrically opposed to you. Why? To further their agenda of opposing women’s rights? Duh!
Anti-feminists didn’t kill ERA over abortion. They killed over gay rights, women in the military and by creating the fear of the end of male responsibility and loss of alimony.
Basically it was about “lifestyle” with Republicans and culture Christians pushing female economic dependence and a culture of obedience and capitalist consumption.
yttik – minimizing the importance of abortion betrays an utter lack of consciousness about women and power. Men often don’t get it.
And, you pretend to know more about what’s best for women. Men do that a lot too.
Not saying you’re male, just sayin’ youi sound a lot like one.
Yttk,I can’t recall anything the anti-abortion anti-feminists have sponsored that would improve the lives of women in the real-life, secular world.
What have they done on behalf of improving the standard of living for working women or single women with children except to propose marriage or Jesus?”Negotiating”on issues of who controls our bodies with doctrinaire fundamentalists is like “negotiating” with the Inquisition for the right to be a heretic. It’s just an infiltrator’s ruse.
The will not be any “solidarity” among women when one side is in favor of reproductive rights and the other side is not. This is an issue that involves women alone. Men are able to stand together because they are not faced with the same concerns.
Instead of fighting for the right to privacy, we are torn between ideologies which have no place in the public forum. However, that being said, cinie is correct in her assertion that the third group has emerged and are now the dominating force behind these policies.
It would be wonderful if someday women realized that feminism doesn’t begin and end with abortion. Women’s bodily autonomy is not guaranteed by abortion rights, in fact abortion can exist in incredibly misogynistic cultures. It becomes something that exists for the convenience of men.
I almost think we did better a few decades ago when women were fighting against pornography, rape, and the culture that allows women to be so disrespected. Sexual assault is a much better meassure of how little control women have over their bodies then the fact that women are “allowed” access to safe abortions.
Women don’t ask for much anymore. Not equal wages, not to be free from pornography and rape, not for equal representation in congress. We seem to settle for whatever sweet talking politician panders to us about choice.
There is a new ERA bill…that the SBA List will only support (yah right)if that there “abortion issue” is newly agenda-ized off the table. IF that were to occur they would then say…oh and also gay marriage…like they f@cking did before with the old legislation. Abortion is always on the table. Now we just want it to go under the table.
Seems to me, only the Stepfordists want to take abortion off the table for the good of the sisterhood, most women don’t. So, why indulge the lunatic fringe?
Render to Caesar what is Caesars. I don’t think Jesus meant rendering the womb to the Roman Catholic Church that was post Caesar with Rome being Pagan at that time.
Peter the foundation (You said Peter, I said Dick): “Okay let’s throw some of that Mary Mother stuff in there so those Pagans might come around to Father God. Let’s tell them she was a virgin though so her filth hadn’t been touch by a man. They might be stupid enough to buy the “miracle” thing, if not we will convince them one way or another.
Oh the tangle web woven, that is spinning again.
Actually I think at one time the Catholic church was quite happy with abortion. It protected the careers of so many priests and wealthy donors.
I don’t want abortion off the table, I want us to stop giving it so much power. Instead of viewing abortion as a non negotiable demand, we’re trapped in this situation of constantly begging it not be taken away. Truth of the matter is, it’s been around for thousands of yrs, nobody has the power to take it away. As to making it safe and accessible, we’ve gone way backwards. We used to have clinics in every county here where I live, now it’s a 4 hr trip away and it takes weeks to get an appointment.
But because we’ve gone and made abortion so powerful, all they have to do to kill the ERA, the health care bill, or any other piece of legislation is to attach it to abortion in one way or another.
yttik, we have not made abortion important, the other side has. Anti-abortionists started working on defeating Roe the day it became law. The truth is, pro choice forces dropped the ball after Roe, and let the other side get away with chipping away at it until now, it’s a very big deal.
Oh, the old Hyde Amendment conscious clause. That sounds so familiar. Oh right, right, that new amendment, just expanded upon it.
What goes under the flip side of the table always comes back around. Just written backwards off course because you couldn’t have read it correctly while being there with it under the table.
I don’t think Republicans really give a crap about abortion. They just use it to tweak Democrats. Democrats fall for it every time.
I thought this was kind of funny. Seems like the Republican National Committee provides their employees with insurance that covers abortion.
http://rawstory.com/2009/11/gop-health-insurance-abortions/
Doesn’t matter why the Republicans fuck with women’s rights, it’s enough that they do.
And, no offense, yttik, but I’m starting to believe you don’t buy half of what you’re selling, either.
I selling the idea that people can change their perspective and look at things from a different angle. It’s difficult to explain in a couple of sentences especially when people are so rigid in their belief systems.
Abortion doesn’t belong to either party, it’s a non negotiable demand that existed long before Roe v Wade. When we gave it over to the Dem party we handed our power away and the two parties have toyed with us ever since. And oh yes, I do believe the things I am saying.
I believe one thing women could really learn from men is solidarity. They don’t demand perfection from each other or even shared political beliefs. They will cross racial lines, political lines, even class lines to support each other when necessary. It’s called the good old boy network and it’s been effective for centuries. When women are called upon to support each other they immediately do as they have been taught, start judging the other woman. Does she share our political beliefs, is she too hot, too cold, too stupid, does she have cankles? We will nit pit and judge that woman until almost nobody wants to support her because she’s such a hideous creature.
All men do not stick together, yttik. If they did there wouldn’t be two parties, wars, unions, slaves, teams, etc. We can take the “us” against “them” stuff too far, imho. Men are hardly shining examples of solidarity as far as I can see.
And they haven’t since Cain bashed Abel’s brains out.
But still, I believe that, what we call the “Rip, Rap, and Rup effect” is prevalent: You go for/choose someone who looks like yourself. And as decisionmakers are still mostly men, there you have it!
http://tinyurl.com/y9647yo
… and next week the leaders of the 27 EU countries http://tinyurl.com/ycdrpbr are going to select a EU president.
(Yes! “We” too select “our” president, heheheh!)
Haven’t yet seen any women being named as candidates! Wonder why
?
That good old country club boys club oft ain’t been too kind to them those outsiders.
Heeeeeyyyy, La-La, howya been, woman? Goodta seeya. Missed you.
Hey, HT, Pips!
I’m hoping the Stupak amendment serves as a tipping point for women. To tell you the truth, it will, one way or the other. Either it will energize women to harden their resolve to demand accountability from their representatives, or, it will damn us all to the complacency of complaisance.
Just say “no.”
Pass it on.
I am still collating but I am leaning toward the tipping point direction. I however am fully willing to go into battle with my sisters at this tipping point. All sides declaring that the common ground ideology is bullshit might actually be the true tipping point.
I’m starting to call it what it is: the apocalyptic Battle of the Whore of Babylon and her concubines, envisioning it like the scene from Braveheart when the English send in the Irish to charge the Scots then they stop and bend over and show their asses to the King and his Stepfordists army.
Missed you too! Come over and see me in the morning post, big gal, when I preach on about the Whore of Babylon.
Here I am this morning, Cinie, come over and find me, woman, when you get up…LOL. I like when you come over and comment and sometimes challenge my works: It helps me grow as a writer and expands my thoughts
http://wiredleft.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/scopes-polar-bear-trial/
Cinie, I haven’t commented for awhile, because that Stupid (was that Stupak?) crap was so sad, and I am so worried about the infection spreading, that I’ve been equipping my bunker.
You are an incredibly astute cultural observer, and this article is straight to the point. Women can be (and are lately) other women’s own worst enemy.
I remember when Iran and Lebanon were considered modern, where women were not chattels – they were Doctors and Professors, Engineers and Scientists, and the arts flourished. Beirut and Teheran were considered go to places.
Then the (ruling) Powers that Be (PTB) got greedy – money, fame, celebrity, let them eat cake, more money. The (not ruling PTBs) clerical class (who are really politicians) had been working from the sidelines for years, waiting for the corruption to become unbearable, so they could come back with their medieval interpretations of ancient texts and bring back their version of the divine right of kings.
Women were affected, as they had to bear children, feed their families, ensure everyone was righteous. The boys played women big time in every country, and the women who had been brainwashed or capitulated out of fear joined the backward march. They felt compelled to justify their way of life, and in their minds that meant every one else must follow their way, cause that’s how they were indoctrinated. and although it hasn’t degenerated to that degree yet in NOrth America….?
Good article. May these socalled feminists get a taste of their own rhethoric, and may the rest of us avoid it, rise up and say “NO, GADDAMN IT, WE ARE HUMANS AND WE DESERVE THE SAME TREATMENT THAT ANY OTHER HUMAN EXPECTS.
So, so sad!
And so, so true!
(Sheesh Cinie, you gave me a scare! The page took for ever to load, so for ever I was looking at Superwoman and the words “The End”, dreading it meant the end of you blogging! And when finally the page had loaded and I wanted to make a comment it said “No Responses”! Phew, it just meant that no one had commented yet!
)
Nah, Pips, I’m still here. Dunno what’s going on; whether it’s WordPress or me, but Deb was saying last night that she’s been having problems, too.
I was afraid that the constant sniping, bitching, and backstapping had gotten to you. So glad you can withstand it, Cinie!
Besides, for some reason my computer always acts up late at night (my time)!