Hating Feminists? What Is Kathryn Lopez of the National Review Thinking?
By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
The NRO's Kathryn Lopez offered a one-line post yesterday that preceded an excerpt of an Agence France-Presse article on Saudi cleric hysteria over women's advancement in that country. Lopez's one-liner was questionable.
The article quoted clerics as saying, among other unbelievably atavistic statements, that it is "religiously impermissible" for Saudi women to appear on television and other babble as follows:
"Our faith in you is great to carry out media reform, for we have seen how perversity is rooted in the ministry of information and culture, on television, radio, in the press, literary clubs, and book fairs," the letter said.
It cited an alleged plan to "westernise" Saudi women by "reducing their rights to a question of removing veils, wearing makeup and mixing with men."
It added that the ministry had permitted the import of "obscene newspapers and magazines that are filled with deviant thought and pictures of beautiful women on its covers and inside."
What's weird is not the hysteria of Islamic clerics--that's to be expected. But Lopez leads her post with the line:
As American Feminists Prep Their Next Count of Women Columnists ... [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
As I have stated before, I am not a feminist nor do I toe any ideological or partisan line. But why does Lopez take this seeming slap at feminists as a lead-in to the article? Is she condoning the clerics' behavior? Either she is, which seems unimaginable since she, herself, is a working journalist and therefore in violation of the clerics' views of women. Or perhaps she's taking a non sequitur of a jab at feminists for no apparent reason. Why this post appeared at all is beyond me, or it's just another example of illogical right wing hate of the left.
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Tags: Saudi Arabia | feminism
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Reader Comments
Really? Not a feminist?
I agree with Ken M of NJ (below), regarding your strange (and cowardly) "I am not a feminist" proclamation.
Maybe you could tell us what exactly what a feminist really is, and then explain how you're not one...or do you really disagree with equal rights for women?
And please..."nor do I toe any ideological or partisan line..."?
How many times have I heard that before?! Maybe next time you could display your android credentials at the bottom of the page, since only a non-human has the capacity to be non-ideological. (Perhaps you need a refresher on this term, too?)
Cancer and hot tea
I have a certificate in Chinese Herbal Medicine and can assure you that there may be pesticides and poisons in the tea sent over from China.The California study in 2000 found
arsenic,lead,cyanide,mercury to name a few in formulas sent here.Babies cough syrup had lead in it.
Has that been a consideration in this study?
Most of our tea comes from China.
Hot would open the throat more than warm or cool.Probably a factor.
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Couldn't be Clearer
I think that her point is both clear and very well founded. What passes for the feminist movement in the US is no more than another head of the liberal hydra.It's leadership hyperventilate over fictional sexist affronts and tries to paint anyone that doesn't share its left wing agenda as misogynistic or, as in the case of the Sarah Pal;ins of the world "inauthentic" women. At the same time,it is silent about honor killings, stoning and the generally wretched condition of women in Islamic societies.I won't even get into the free pass that was given to the nations misogynist in chief, Bill Clinton, by the feminist talking heads who have hijacked a worthy cause and perverted it to serve narrow ideological ends. I hope that this clarifies her point for you.
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