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Why women are (or are not) reading Sarah Palin
The Christian Science Monitor ^ | December 2, 2009 | Marjorie Kehe

Posted on 12/02/2009 9:03:33 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

“When women talk about Palin,” points out Lisa Belkin, “it’s not just politics, it’s personal.” No kidding. And that at least partially explains the fervor of Palin fans like cousins Nicole Colter and Stephanie Jefferson who drove 4-1/2 hours (Colter) or flew six hours (Jefferson) to Springfield, Mo., to get Palin to autograph their copies of “Going Rogue” and then to hear her speak at the College of the Ozarks.

But Belkin, who published a piece called “Why Women Can’t Let Sarah Palin Go” in The New York Times, sees at least as much animosity as admiration in the female response to Palin. She believes that hardworking, educated women respond to Sarah Palin the way they did to the head cheerleader in high school. (Even though in fact Palin was not a cheerleader but the captain of her high_school basketball team.)

“Pretty and popular, with no apparent interest in studying, she’s the one who industrious girls were tacitly promised would not succeed in the real world,” writes Belkin.”Whether we voted for Hillary or not, we weren’t about to let Palin breeze in, with her sexy librarian hair and her peekaboo-toed shoes, conforming to every winking, air-brained stereotype, and sashay to the front of the line.”

And yet, she admits, “Which is not to say we didn’t like her for a moment. We were intrigued by this woman who could govern a state and raise five children and field-dress a moose; who seemed to do what the rest of us could not manage – to have it all.”

Eilene Zimmerman, writing for True/Slant, says she sees an even more basic reason for women (or men) to dismiss Palin: “[S]he’s simply not smart.” And yet Zimmerman has trouble reconciling that perception with this fact: “She’s sold a million books in two weeks.”(continued)

(Excerpt) Read more at features.csmonitor.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Extended News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bimbos4rinos; bimbos4romney; goingrogue; greeneyedmonster; jourbalism; madamepresident; misogynist; misogynists; misogynists4mitt; palin; pds; presidentpalin; presidentsarahpalin; sarahpalin; theyarejealous; waronsarah; women; womensvote
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To: exit82

Whenever I hear this argument they say she does not sound smart. They of course are referring to her dialect. They should realize it is ones actions that should be the basis of measuring intelligence.


21 posted on 12/02/2009 9:37:37 PM PST by DHSMostWanted (Last week my mother called me "Little Rush" such a wonderful compliment.)
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To: airborne

Notice that 90% of the women who hate Palin are butt ugly.


22 posted on 12/02/2009 9:42:52 PM PST by boop (Democracy is the theory that the people get the government they deserve, good and hard.)
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To: airborne

Women tend to be harsher critics of each other.


23 posted on 12/02/2009 9:43:28 PM PST by DHSMostWanted (Last week my mother called me "Little Rush" such a wonderful compliment.)
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To: donna

That is ridiculous, Palin makes them feel guilty about it because although she was governor the Palin’s were raising their own children with no Guatemalan maids or the chef that she fired when she took office.

God knows that Palin sure makes you feel guilty about something.


24 posted on 12/02/2009 9:45:05 PM PST by ansel12 (Scozzafava/Romney 2012)
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To: DHSMostWanted
"They should realize it is ones actions that should be the basis of measuring intelligence."

Speaking (and writing) is an action. There's whole field of psychological study that measures an individual's locutions or writings and estimate a person's intellect from that. Think about it - the SAT's measure mathematics, critical reading and writing.

Language skills, to include the way someone speaks - their grammar, syntax and their breadth of vocabulary reflects how they think and their ability to effectively communicate those thoughts, all reflective of their intellect.

Some of the greatest minds of the last 500 years - Shakespeare, Jefferson, Lincoln (to name a few) are author master's of language.

25 posted on 12/02/2009 9:46:32 PM PST by OldDeckHand (Obamacare - So bad, even Joe Lieberman isn't going to vote for it.)
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To: OldDeckHand
That should have read..."are authors and masters of language."
26 posted on 12/02/2009 9:48:44 PM PST by OldDeckHand (Obamacare - So bad, even Joe Lieberman isn't going to vote for it.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I’ve watched all the videoes of Palin’s book signing events, and I sure see a lot of women of all ages, from teenagers to seniors in those lines.


27 posted on 12/02/2009 9:49:12 PM PST by euram
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To: ansel12

She can’t be in two places at once.


28 posted on 12/02/2009 9:49:58 PM PST by donna (Sarah Palin: The Feminist ideal comes to fruition in the Republican Party. Betty Friedan laughs.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Jealous, snarky, women.
I know one myself. My lefty, code pink mom. She has Palin Derangement Syndrome. She went and “spied” on Sarah Palin’s book signing THREE times on Tuesday. She says that Palin wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without being “pretty”.


29 posted on 12/02/2009 9:53:02 PM PST by machogirl (First they came for my tagline.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Sarah Palin succeeded despite not having a pedigree, an Ivy League education, a wealthy well-connected husband, or radical feminist inclinations.

I haven’t read her book, but I imagine that her motivation for getting into politics is also foreign to the Angry Women.

To me she embodies the American ideal of anyone being able to grow up to be President, and I think that’s pretty cool.


30 posted on 12/02/2009 9:56:08 PM PST by dbwz (DISSENT IS PATRIOTIC)
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To: OldDeckHand

no kiddin.

The most women who have a problem with Palin have problems with ALL attractive women.


31 posted on 12/02/2009 9:57:44 PM PST by moehoward
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To: donna

The last act that Palin did in the seconds before walking out to make her speech at the convention, Palin diapered Trig.

The father and mother seem to be there all the time, is guilt over your mothering what causes you to burn so white hot with hate for that close family?


32 posted on 12/02/2009 9:58:16 PM PST by ansel12 (Scozzafava/Romney 2012)
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To: boop
'Notice that 90% of the women who hate Palin are butt ugly. " I've noticed the same thing.
33 posted on 12/02/2009 10:09:16 PM PST by Rodney Dangerfield (The "Inconvenient Truth" was all a convenient lie.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

my female coworkers and friends do not like her at all and think she is dumb and doesn’t represent women well. Some are democrats while other are moderates. They get their information from media, which is the best source of information for most. I think this is a problem that Palin needs to address. Most women don’t spend time reading alternative online news coverage and just get whatever information from local news/mainstream news stations.


34 posted on 12/02/2009 10:19:36 PM PST by solar Republic
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Jealousy.

The best definition I ever read regarding the meaning of “misogny” - “when men hate women just as much as women hate women.”

She isn’t smart?
They simply don’t want her to be smart.
When a woman is beautiful - they just can’t handle it when she also turns out to be smart.

Sarah isn’t just “smart”. She’s REALLY smart.
She’s a heckuva lot smarter than the what’s sitting in the Oval Office right now.


35 posted on 12/02/2009 10:21:46 PM PST by Scotswife
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To: machogirl

“She says that Palin wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without being “pretty”.”

Well - she may be partially correct on that one, but it cuts both ways.
Would Obama have had as many fawning Obots if he were butt ugly?

So Sarah is pretty - so what?
Pretty Sarah fell in love with hotty Todd, and they now they have a bunch of pretty kids.
So what?

Once she was given responsibility she had to be held accountable for, look what happened! She was a kickass governor - something Obama could never put on his resume.


36 posted on 12/02/2009 10:26:00 PM PST by Scotswife
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To: 2ndDivisionVet; potlatch

Although I live nowhere near Alaska, I’d read about Sarah’s election as governor and followed occasional news about her professional accomplishments, and about the birth of Trig. While the Veep search was going on, I prayed she’d be considered. When McCain made the announcement, I jumped to my feet and watched her speech standing and cheering.

Her speech at the convention was electric and her debate performance was solid. I was outraged at the Gibson interview because of the poor stage placement that had him looming over her, looking down on her. The interview had obvious edits. I wondered what idiot on the campaign dropped the ball on that. Couric’s editing was smoother, so it took some time to know what got cut (anything good).
It’s obvious that the McCain campaign was as effective as Bush I’s in 1992 and Dole’s in 1996. They completely mismanaged her, but she still consistently drew crowds in the tens of thousands.

I drove 200 miles to stand in line forever to see her at a campaign stop added to her schedule with just a few days’ notice. I had the same reaction to her as the day she was nominated. She owned the large crowd that turned out in a democrat city. Her eyes glistened when she quoted Reagan, referred to the troops, or spoke of the greatness of America. She had an inner beauty that transcended her already lovely physical appearance. She was strong on national issues, and compelling on issues of life and families of children with special needs.

I have since learned that my brother-in-law’s sister who lives in Alaska thinks the world of Sarah, who she knows personally. She earned her popularity in Alaska through the results of her hard work and her commitment to clean up corruption, starting with her own party.

Frankly, I know more male Sarah fans than female. Political correctness and scathing media attacks and jokes have produced a knee-jerk negative reaction. You just mention the name “Sarah” and you get the cluck of disgust. Nobody can provide actual reasons why they dislike her. I always ask.

The women I know who are Sarah fans are people who think for themselves, and do not feel the need to tear down someone who has accomplished more than they have.

I devoured Sarah’s book and loved it. It is her story, in her voice. Who cares if she hired an author to help put it in publication order in an extremely short period of time. I have not read a review where I thought the reviewer actually read the whole book. I did not find it self-centered, whiny or vindictive. If anything, she let some people off easy. The book left me wanting more, so Sarah, please write another one. I’m thrilled she’s drawing huge crowds on her book tour.


37 posted on 12/02/2009 10:26:00 PM PST by ntnychik
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To: Scotswife

My mother is nuts. She (my mother) had her picture taken by one of the local rags at the book signing, but they didn’t put it on the web site. I was going to laugh like heck, if my lefty mom, was photographed at a Palin signing. I was going to put it up as wall paper and send it to all my siblings. That would have been poetic justice.


38 posted on 12/02/2009 10:29:12 PM PST by machogirl (First they came for my tagline.)
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To: machogirl

LOL! I’m sorry about your mom.

At first my mom bought intot the msm’s narrative that Sarah is a ditz.

I’ve been working on her.

Now she’ll say she was a good governor and is a smart lady, but she still thinks she doesn’t have what it takes to win the presidency.

I guess I’ll give thanks for progress.


39 posted on 12/02/2009 10:31:55 PM PST by Scotswife
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To: OldDeckHand

{Why some women hold that against Palin, and not against Hilary, is really anybody’s guess.}

Interesting to note that the fan base of other female conservative “celebrities” like Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, and Michelle Malkin are majority male.


40 posted on 12/02/2009 10:37:49 PM PST by yongin
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