Building off the recent publicity over the stance taken by two local National Organization for Women (NOW) chapters on endorsing Hilary Clinton, Alexandra Alter of the Wall Street Journal interviewed various feminists, including Prof. Crenshaw, on their take on how feminists should cast their vote.
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Yet, as Alter discovered, these views did not represent all feminists. The national NOW office quickly distanced itself from these local chapters’ positions. The head of the
By making gender or identity politics the deciding factor, these feminists negate the role of debating and deciding who will best represent one’s views. As Prof. Crenshaw notes at the end of the article, “What does this simplistic solidarity say to feminists of color? If the idea is, vote for the person who looks like you, what am I supposed to do as an African-American woman?”
Yet, when an African American woman such as Maya Angelou can endorse Hilary Clinton and a White woman such as Kate Michelman (former president of National Abortion Rights Action League) can support Obama, it seems like a fair number of prominent feminists are willing to look beyond identity issues in order to engage in the debate on who can best represent their views.
To read Alexandra Alter’s article, Democratic Race Causes Feminist Rift, click here.
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