Feminists are cowards. They hide behind the power they’ve been given, and routinely abuse this power, because they lack the courage to confront the issues head on. That’s why there wasn’t a word in Daum’s column about the book she was supposed to be covering. Rather, she dredged up the same tired argument feminists have belabored for decades: Phyllis Schlafly spent her life telling other women to “stay home” while she herself did not.
That is simply false.
Phyllis Schlafly was what we today call at “at-home mom” for two decades. She was not employed in all that time but was very politically active. These two things work fine in tandem, for it does not require an allegiance to the workplace or a boss. Your time is your own, and you can work around the needs of your children. That Phyllis had help during the day to assist in various household duties has nothing to do with Phyllis’s political stance. She did not spend her career fighting the concept of childcare. She spoke out about why daycare is not a healthy environment for babies and toddlers.
Daycare and the more general term “childcare” are not the same. Childcare refers to any type of caregiving children receive and has only become boilerplate language since mothers have fled the home in mass droves. That Phyllis speaks out against the perils of day care and supports the traditional family does not equate to her telling other women how they should live their lives or whether or not they should pursue careers outside the home.
What this latest attack from the LA Times is about is a pitiful attempt to get even with the woman who almost single-handedly defeated the Equal Rights Amendment. That fact makes feminists certifiably nuts: Betty Friedan once told Phyllis she’d like to “burn her at the stake.” That’s the caliber of women Phyllis and I have to deal with, and just when I think I’ve seen the lowest of the low, I realize I haven’t.
So there you have it, Ms. Daum – all the truth you ever wanted to know about Phyllis Schlafly, right here in print. Take a deep breath and try to absorb the information. In another few minutes, you should start to feel really stupid.
Suzanne Venker is co-author with Phyllis Schlafly of the new book The Flipside of Feminism: What Conservative Women Know – and Men Can’t Say.
