by
Stephanie Herman
Rightgrrl Co-Founder
August 12, 1998
Imagine a woman who was being manipulated at her place of employment.
Imagine a woman who was asked to break the law for her male boss. The
perfect victim, right? The type feminists start causes for.
Now imagine that the woman stands up for herself. Imagine that the woman
becomes proactive in defense of her job. Imagine that she decides to
play hardball and wins. The perfect feminist, right? The type feminists
celebrate publically.
Now imagine that the names of the woman and the boss turn out to be
Linda Tripp and Bill Clinton. The feminist reaction immediately
reverses. No longer considered "strong," the woman we know as Linda
Tripp becomes a "bitch."
The "strong woman" cast as "bitch" -- the perfect pet peeve of
feminists, right? Wrong. When the Democratic Party is in the line of
fire, strong women are quickly dismissed as "bitches," even in the minds
of ardent feminists.
But isn't that odd?
After all, when Linda Tripp felt threatened, both personally and
professionally, she acted as any good feminist would -- indeed, as any
good feminist has been taught to do. She fought back. She pulled no
punches. And in a most cunning and courageous act, she secretly taped
Monica Lewinsky asking her to commit a criminal act. She protected
herself and showed she had some balls. And the feminists, usually so
impressed by strong women, are instead whining about Linda's failure to
protect a non-existent friendship. A so-called "friendship" with a
Monica Lewinsky so beguiled by the Alpha Male persona of Bill Clinton
that she automatically fails every feminist litmus test. Except one --
she had the good political sense to bl*w a Democrat.
Organized feminists have a history of selectively and reservedly
applauding women who live out the feminist ideal. Pro-choice females
elected to the House and Senate are congratulated on their victories,
despite the fact that Emily's List claims most of the credit.
Conservative females elected to adjoining seats, however, are ridiculed
for having won only with the assumed help of the GOP bankroll and male
endorsements. One thing remains the same, however, in the minds of
organized feminists: females don't often win elections on their merits.
In fact, feminism isn't really about promoting women based on their
merits. Feminist writer Carolyn Heilbrun actually blames
successful, proactive women for the fact that other women might not
achieve the same success: "Women in the world of events, whether they be
prime ministers, women psychoanalysts, cabinet members... have failed to
envision other women at their side. Needless to say, they have not found
them there."
Heilbrun further charges, "That distressing attitude of achieving women:
I made it, why can't you,' that failure to sympathize with the struggles
of less vigorous female selves, has always marked successful women. They
refuse to understand the tokenism that they represent, refuse to see
that their single presence, far from proving that anyone can make it,
determines, under the present system, that no one else will."
Successful women are reduced by Heilbrun to little more than arrogant
mistakes. Without the feminist crutch, the selfish achievements of
successful (often capitalist) women amount to little more than tokenism.
Clearly, feminists do not understand the process by which individuals,
be they men or women, achieve success -- as Heilbrun clumsily
illustrates: "[Successful women's] personal circumstances somehow
allowed them to undergo a process' in which they established a drive
toward autonomy. Clearly, most female socialization inhibits such a
drive, either plunging the woman into such conflict that resolution
appears possible only through retreat, or imposing so much inner tension
that the cost of achievement, even where it occurs, is extravagant."
While it's true that motivation alone cannot equal success in the
workplace or victory over a harasser or manipulator, the missing factor
in this equation is not feminist protectionism -- it's personal
responsibility, that aspect of her character that helps a woman overcome
the conflicts and problems often found on one's journey through life.
And yes, Virginia, the cost of victory is extravagant. Linda Tripp has
paid that extravagant price.
Perhaps feminists are finally faced with the visage of a strong woman in
Linda Tripp. And perhaps they're guilty of the same charge they make
against those white, conservative males sourly contemplating Hillary
Clinton; it would seem feminists are intimidated by a truly strong
woman.
