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.

On Facebook? You can keep up with Thomas Jefferson Street blog postings through Facebook's Networked Blogs.

• Read more by Bonnie Erbe.
• Read more from the Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
• Read more about feminism.

Reader Comments Read all comments (8)

Add Your Thoughts

Comment Name State Select One AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY International Email

Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image.

Incorrect please try again

Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear:

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.