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  The Waah-Waah Sisterhood

  Posted Tuesday, January 29, 2008 1:31 PM | By Rachael Larimore
  So, some folks are worried that "feminism is out of style." Gee, could it have anything to do with stuff like this? Apologies if I seem too flippant. But I do sense a common thread between Karen von Hahn's column in the Globe and Mail (go read it if you haven't) and that noxious letter from the New York chapter of NOW:  It's as if feminism is an either/or proposition. If you like pink ... if you are anti-abortion  ... if you don't quiver with joy at the possibility of a President Hillary Clinton, then you are NOT a feminist.

  Is there no room for nuance? A woman should be able to think that it's rotten that there aren't more female CEOs and that we still wipe more bottoms and mop more floors than our husbands without also feeling compelled to believe that The Man is still keeping us down because the abortion clinic gives Juno "the creeps."

  Von Hahn bemoans the fact that "girls of this generation ... consider it ‘lame' to align themselves with a woman candidate on the sole ground of sisterhood." I think that represents a rousing success of the feminist movement. It tells me that women believe that it's so possible for a woman to become president that they're willing to wait for the female candidate who best represents their views.

  If "sisterhood" means that I have to choose Ms. over InStyle, Hillary over John McCain, and If These Walls Could Talk over Knocked Up, then count me out.

  Filed under: feminism, abortion, NOW

About Rachael Larimore

• Rachael Larimore is Slate's copy chief.

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