The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: News

BUCHANAN

Second-wave feminism doesn't acknowledge the housewife, encourages divorce, and is "based on a complete selfish approach to life," a CNN political commentator said Tuesday.

Bay Buchanan, former Treasurer of State, discussed second-wave feminism - a feminist movement between the 1960s and 1980s - and its effects on American society in a forum, "Failures of Feminism." The event, hosted by Up From Liberalism, kicked off the College Republican's Conservative Week.

Buchanan said the "problem with no name" - an idea coined by feminist activist Betty Friedan in the 1960s - contributed to the rise of second-wave feminism. Friedan's "problem with no name" referred to the discontent that women felt being restricted to the household.

"The mistake of 'the problem with no name' is that it says the reason women have problems is because there is no way they can feel fulfilled ... [and] real fulfillment is what the men are doing," she said. "As a result, a harm was done."

She said "the problem with no name" gave rise to an inaccurate social typecast that housewives are insignificant members of the female population. She also said the second feminist movement created a selfishness among women that had negative effects on their families.

"Look at what feminism is about. Feminism is about me. I need a career. I need fulfillment in my life," she said. "While the movement helped to promote women and opportunities, [feminists] need to realize that [the movement] says that it is a cop-out to be a mother and a wife - a housewife," she said.

Feminism should instead represent an opportunity for females to fill leadership roles in all facets of their lives, Buchanan said.

"It takes guts to be a good leader," she said. "Don't think you have to run for office to be a good leader. Leaders are needed in families, communities, and at universities. They are needed everywhere."

Buchanan's views on second-wave feminism didn't resonate with everyone at the forum.

Hannah Barfield, a junior from Thomasville, said Buchanan ignored the man's role in the family.

"Women work and go home and work. It's called a 'double shift.' You work from eight to five and have to clean when [you]get home. It becomes an eight-to-11 job."

Kim Moxley, a junior from Lawrenceville, said, "She presented her case well, but she listed problems that were caused by feminism - she didn't say how," Moxley said.

Phuong Nguyen, a sophomore from Lilburn, said, "She presented her claims with extremes and ignored the middle ground ... she played on the prejudices to make a point."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools