Free Republic

What Exiting Is and Isn't Virno believes a radical disobedience is needed to challenge the state's ability to command. This cannot be expressed through resistance to a specific law on the grounds, for example, that it contradicts a constitution. Such resistance is actually a vote of confidence in the state qua state; that is, such activists fight to enable a purer vision of state authority rather than against the idea of a state itself. A wholesale rejection is required. And, yet, revolutionaries who violently confront the state usually suffer one of two fates: they are slaughtered or otherwise broken or...

Next week, an important moment will occur in the general trend toward recognizing the societal importance and legal rights of fathers. On March 28, the New York State Assembly's Children & Families Committee is scheduled to hear Bill A330 on shared parenting. The bill seeks to establish "the presumption in matrimonial proceedings for awarding shared parenting of minor children in the absence of an allegation that shared parenting would be detrimental to the best interests of the child." In short, a parent seeking sole custody (most commonly the mother) would assume the legal burden of proving why a shared arrangement...

Betty Friedan (1921-2006) died last Saturday at the age of 85. Eulogies have stacked up quickly for the feminist icon: Friedan founded modern feminism; she rescued women from the '50s; she pioneered the brave 'new woman' who now strides through society. I disagree with those eulogies about the content of Friedan's legacy. The disagreement contains no malice; however, because Friedan is a public and now-historical figure, an accurate view of her social impact is simply necessary. Accuracy may be especially important as the impact of her death is already being used (or abused) by various political organizations and groups to...

Last week, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against the Santa Rosa health club Body Central. According to the agency, which enforces California's civil rights and anti-discrimination laws, the club's women-only policy violates the civil rights of men. Is the suit just payback for feminist intrusions into male-only groups? Or does the suit merely extend an unjust law and embed it further into society? Body Central is poised to become a test case. At issue is whether an owner has the right to control the customer policies of his or her private business. If so,...

Last week, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against the Santa Rosa health club Body Central. According to the agency, which enforces California's civil rights and anti-discrimination laws, the club's women-only policy violates the civil rights of men. Is the suit just payback for feminist intrusions into male-only groups? Or does the suit merely extend an unjust law and embed it further into society? Body Central is poised to become a test case. At issue is whether an owner has the right to control the customer policies of his or her private business. If so,...

"Over one's inner mind, and self, no one has coercive power." So write attorneys Jordan Lorence and Harvey A. Silverglate, authors of the just-published Guide to First-Year Orientation and Thought Reform on Campus from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). The Guide is yet another indication that political correctness is faltering on campuses across North America. To those who value the right of individuals to a conscience -- that is, to judge right and wrong for themselves -- this is welcome news. Political correctness is the belief that certain ideas and attitudes are improper and, so, should be...

  -- explore the new feminism -- introduction | interaction | information   ifeminists.com > introduction > editorials   Runaway Bride Lost in Junk Journalism May 11, 2005 by Wendy McElroy, wendy@ifeminists.net Veteran newsman Sam Donaldson announced it. Jennifer Wilbanks -- the Runaway Bride -- proved it. "Network news is dead." Tabloid journalism used to be a guilty vice enjoyed by people waiting in supermarket lines. They now dress it up as evening news, but even good journalists cannot infuse the supermarket stories with substance. In fact, they don't seem to be trying. Elements of the Wilbanks story are...

The shadows of children allegedly raped by United Nations peacekeepers in the Congo and the women allegedly molested by a top U.N. official fall across the 49th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. From this past Monday to March 11, the U.N. will meet in New York City to review global progress on the "women’s human rights agreement" known as the Beijing Platform (1995). Over 6,000 advocates of women’s rights will attend. How can a self-respecting woman, let alone a feminist, legitimize the U.N. through her presence? The CSW should be in the forefront of those crying...

Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap And What Women Can Do About It is Warren Farrell’s latest book, and a fascinating read. It has stirred vigorous and predictable debate about what causes the "wage gap" (search) by which the average female employee is said to earn approximately 80 cents for every dollar paid to a man. But what I view as Farrell’s most controversial point remains undiscussed. Namely, should women use affirmative action (search)--that is, government-mandated preferences-- to ‘correct’ the free market’s wage gap and make more money? Farrell, who is usually associated with male...

Should the public school system be used to encourage sexual attitudes in children, especially attitudes to which their parents might object? SpongeBob SquarePants is gay! Or is he? And why is there so little information on a matter everyone is discussing? The scandal surrounding the sexual orientation of the cartoon character SpongeBob looks like a media creation. The snickers directed at the ultra-conservative James Dobson of Focus on the Family -- the man 'credited' with questioning how square SpongeBob's pants actually are -- seem intended to obscure the issue and vilify the man. The issue is: should the public school...

Only in a world of unlimited options and bottomless pockets would there be no conflict between pursuing children's health and children's rights. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has just released its annual "The State of the World's Children" report for 2005. Using words like "catastrophe," UNICEF's Executive Director Carol Bellamy warns that the "triple whammy" of AIDS, conflict and poverty has reversed previous gains on children's survival, health and education. But critics of UNICEF claim the agency and Bellamy have contributed to the crisis by focusing on political causes and steering UNICEF away from the "core business" of ensuring...

A beauty contest at Lakehead University aroused sharp protest from campus feminists. The flap came on the heels of a similar contest at which I applauded from the audience. The contrast made me wonder: "Why are politically correct feminists so upset by beauty pageants?" "Upset" may be too tame a word. Rage against beauty contests lies at the very roots of PC feminism. Indeed, a high-profile protest at the 1968 Miss America beauty contest is often credited with bringing the feminist movement into public awareness. It was a defining moment, with feminist protesters setting off stink bombs and singing, "Ain't...

"Are there are any registered vaginas in the house?" "Step into your vaginas and get the vagina vote out!" These were some of the comments shouted at the celebrity-packed "Vaginas Vote, Chicks Rock" night in New York City this September. Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem were among the laudables at the event that urged women to register to vote in order to promote "women's issues." Underlying the surreal rhetoric is the idea that women share special political interests around which they should rally and vote as a solid block. This is different from appealing to statistics. Saying "most women voted...

A July 25 Justice Department study reveals that 6.9 million people — one in 34 adults — were on probation, parole or incarcerated in 2003. This record-breaking figure has prompted calls for the removal of nonviolent offenders from the system. If that happens, the first offenders to be removed should be "deadbeat dads" imprisoned for defaulting on child support they cannot afford to pay.

The Decline of Affirmative Action June 23, 2004 by Wendy McElroy, mac@ifeminists.net A year ago, on June 23rd, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of affirmative action (AA) in two cases that challenged the University of Michigan's (U-M) admissions policies. Yet Ted Shaw, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense Fund, has stated, "in the year since Michigan...some institutions have retreated from affirmative action even though we won the case." Why is AA on the decline? There are several reasons. First, the Supreme Court decisions were not a clear victory, with the main...

The Birth of Father's Day June 16, 2004 by Wendy McElroy, mac@ifeminists.net Modern Father's Day is uniquely American in its history. Together with Mother's Day, it is both a public and personal expression of the gratitude that is due to all caring parents. Why, then, has Mother's Day been a national holiday for almost a century, while Father's Day received that recognition only decades ago? The proposals for a Father's Day and Mother's Day -- for time set aside for children to honor their parents -- was introduced to American culture at about the same time. (Mother's Day was originally...

The popular reality show Joe Millionaire chronicled a fierce competition among 20 women to marry a man who was advertised as a multi-millionaire but who was actually a low-paid construction worker. Audiences squirmed as the contestants portrayed women as stereotypical, money-grubbing, superficial social climbers. Recently, I attended a colloquium on the disparity between the number of women earning college degrees compared to that of men, and found myself to be a squirming audience member. Although the participants were supposed to be addressing a widely discussed phenomenon spotlighted by a 2003 study entitled "The Growing Gender Gaps in College Enrollment and...

<p>Last week, sociologist Dr. Ellie Lee cast doubt upon the increasingly popular theory that postnatal depression affects as many as one in five new mothers, telling the BBC that the research underlying that claim is "wrong."</p> <p>How can we trust research?</p>

<p>Last week’s release of police documents and evidence on the April, 1999 Columbine school shootings has sparked many questions — not only on the specifics of Columbine but also on the general issue of guns.</p> <p>The answers are unsatisfying on all counts.</p>

<p>Janet Jackson’s pop-up breast during Super Bowl halftime did not create the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004. But it will propel passage of that Act, the consequences of which may be far worse than a bit of trashy exhibitionism on TV.</p>