I think I might cry. Cry from either pure frustration or blatant sadness that Republicans and some Independents are so blindly seeing Sarah Palin as a maverick feminist who will single-handedly save our country. This hurts:



Supporters are sporting signs and t-shirts with this image of Sarah Palin's face photoshopped onto Rosie the Riveter's body, a classic feminist icon. For me, this is like the ultimate punch in the stomach. Ignorant journalists and blind followers are so moronically associating Palin with feminism, when Palin stands for everything that feminism isn't. I'm not any sort of elitist feminist who believes feminism is some sort of exclusive club whose members must adhere to strict rules, but I can confidently draw the line at Sarah Palin. It is an insult to align feminism with a woman who doesn't believe we should have complete control over our bodies and reproductive choices, a woman who doesn't support the Equal Rights Amendment, a woman who has such a narrow view of marriage and family structure. It is wonderful that women have advanced so far in politics, but Sarah Palin does not represent me. The only thing we have in common is a chromosome.

Still, people are worshiping her. Most of her followers are people who probably don't know the first thing about feminism, and most likely didn't give Hillary Clinton the time of day. But that can of course be attributed to the fact that Hillary wore pants and Sarah Palin wears skirts. Seriously. Just ask Donny Deutsch of CNBC, who said: "There is the new creation that the feminist woman has not figured out in 40 years of the feminist ideal that men can take in a woman in power and women can celebrate a woman in power. Hillary Clinton didn't figure it out. She didn't put a skirt on!" Republicans seem to only be okay with "feminism" when it's represented by a woman who passes their standards of femininity - i.e. wearing a skirt. Feminism is all well and good, just as long as we stay girly and only idolize women who wear lipstick and join the PTA. If Sarah Palin traded in her skirt for pants, she would be crucified by the media.

And so I sit by in awe and fear as this new warped tamed-down version of "feminism" is created in the Republican eye. I sincerely hope this ridiculous hype dies down, and we can get back to real politics.