What do you think about what Camille Paglia has to say about Palin?

Question

"Conservative though she may be, I felt that Palin represented an explosion of a brand new style of muscular American feminism. At her startling debut on that day, she was combining male and female qualities in ways that I have never seen before. And she was somehow able to seem simultaneously reassuringly traditional and gung-ho futurist. In terms of redefining the persona for female authority and leadership, Palin has made the biggest step forward in feminism since Madonna channeled the dominatrix persona of high-glam Marlene Dietrich and rammed pro-sex, pro-beauty feminism down the throats of the prissy, victim-mongering, philistine feminist establishment."

"As a dissident feminist, I have been arguing since my arrival on the scene nearly 20 years ago that young American women aspiring to political power should be studying military history rather than taking women's studies courses, with their rote agenda of never-ending grievances."

Additional Details

"Now that's the Sarah Palin brand of can-do, no-excuses, moose-hunting feminism -- a world away from the whining, sniping, wearily ironic mode of the establishment feminism represented by Gloria Steinem, a Hillary Clinton supporter whose shameless Democratic partisanship over the past four decades has severely limited American feminism and not allowed it to become the big tent it can and should be."

rasta, I don't understand your criticism. I asked you to tell what you thought about what she says about Palin and you go after Paglia. I love how so many criticize Paglia the person instead of discussing her ideas//// Talk about being obsessed with personality.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

She is always intelligent, but always over enamored by the cult of personality, too. Palin is an empty package--she describes the package well. I wish she had as much enthusiasm for insisiting that it is ultimately empty, and for explaining what that ultimately says about public intellectual life (or the lack of existence of public intellectual life) in the United States.

edit: I did not attack her personally. You are illiterate if you reached that conclusion. I attacked her idea of what is important or relevant when discussing politics. I think her analysis of things is generally much more intelligent that most other people's, certainly most feminist hacks.

Answer 2

So women should act like men, but look like women?

I can definitely go along with that. Tomboys are hot.

Answer 3

I pretty much agree with Paglia. Palin has mass appeal alright, and the fact that she has been just getting on with it rather than whining about The Patriarchy can only help. I have only seen her conference speech and no matter what your political views you have to say she is a great speaker. Time will tell whether she can keep this up, and it will be very interesting to see her personal response to the fuss over Obama's 'lipstick on a pig' remark. If she is smart she will not play the victim/feminist card.

Answer 4

All women should look up to Palin . She got to where she was not by affirmative action. But working her butt off , being ASSERTIVE, being a leader not a follower, ignoring anti feminist self made "glass ceiling", and now she will probably be a great VP job WITH MULTIPLY KIDS. Anything is possible Ladies just look at Sarah Palin or the many successful women CEO, athletes, and business owner. And oh yeah, love the article. I wish there were more women in the world like Palin.... I wish more men wouldn't avoid these types of women. GEO out.

Answer 5

It says more about female leadership than it does about feminism, which I doubt Sarah Palin (or Camille Paglia) really espouses.

Answer 6

This is coming from a woman who is also obsessed with Madonna.

Answer 7

PC is just another Word for Polite Tyranny. Camille Paglia is exposing a fact. That Feminism has applied certain Litmus tests to how Women live their lives and what they believe. If they do not meet their Litmus test they are not Feminists. MS. Magazine published decades ago statements such as "The Only True Feminist is a Lesbian". This kind of narrow viewpoint has so inflamed Women who want equality without the misandry that they are barely tolerated by their Gender Feminists Sisters.

Sorry but those are Facts. When Christina Hoff Sommers attempted to address a conference on Education for Children, Gender Feminists and their PC Supporters booed her speech and forced her off stage. This is a form of PC Fascism.

Palin is a Feminist, but not in the traditional sense. She is breaking boundaries. If you read Paglia's op ed piece and cannot see the truth she is articulating, you are dishonest and your mind is closed. Palin talked to Geraldine Ferraro and thanked her. Her own Party has not done this. She asked Ferraro for Advice, was gracious, kind, and courteous. Geraldine Ferraro was impressed. And Women get it. The Twenty point swing of White Women to McCain is the result.

Deeds not words are what counts. By choosing Palin, McCain has clearly shown by his actions he is his own Man. And is not afraid of Strong Assertive, capable Women. The Democrats did not, they went for the same old playbook. PUMAs are falling for Palin.

Answer 8

Camille Paglia is a sicko psycho who doesn't know what she thinks. Why would anybody listen to her? Just because she's so extreme?
Palin is not a feminist just because she shoots moose.