Gender, Palin, Feminism

This LA Times op-ed penned by Gloria Steinem is linked on RealClearPolitics today:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-steinem4-2008sep04,0,7915118.story
It is a good read. It makes a strong case against Palin as a candidate for women or feminism without resorting to tasteless attacks on her family (who would do that anyway...could we scrub the posts below where I do that?).
For all interested in discussing the gender implications of this selection, I suggest this article is a good starting point. For me there are a few points that stand out:
1. Steinem does challenge Palin on experience. Many on the right have played the sexism card when others have raised the experience concenrn. Steinem blames McCain for selecting an inexperienced woman over more qualified republicans (Maine Sen. Snow among them).
2. She points out what many of us have been saying, that if McCain thinks Palin is going to pick up many Hillary supporters he is clearly confusing form for content.
3. She makes a truly compelling cases against Palin from the perspective of a liberal:
"Palin's value to those patriarchs is clear: She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves "abstinence-only" programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation; she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska; she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger."

We've been talking around the question of Palin and gender for a while, hitting on it every now and then as it deals with other conversations. I thought it merited focus and thought. I know some of our blog others have studied the subject of gender in politics quite extensively. This nomination ensures that even with Hilary's exit from center stage gender will still be focal. So lets talk about it : )