Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly has never been a fan of the country’s institutes of higher education, which she sees as running rampant with the evils of feminism, Marxism and multiculturalism.
So it makes sense that this month’s edition of the Phyllis Schlafly Report is devoted entirely to “confronting campus radicals” including “feminist propaganda,” “multiculturalism” and “diversity.”
Most of Schlafly’s argument is summed up in a section called “Definition of ‘Politically Correct,’” which goes after multiculturalism, which she defines as “the false notion that Western Civilization is bad and every other group, whether civilized or not, is superior,” the notion that “having sex with anybody, anytime, is OK” and the practice of using B.C.E and C.E for dates, rather than B.C. and A.D.
Definition of 'Politically Correct'
The prevailing environment on most college campuses is what is called Political Correctness — in faculty bias, course content, visiting speakers, and organizations and events funded by student fees. Here are the principal tenets of the campus dogma known as Political Correctness:
1. Everything is political. All academic subjects must be seen through the prism of gender and race oppression, including history, literature, social relationships, and even private conversation. Most students encounter this immediately in their freshman English class. The writings of the DWEMs (Dead White European Males) have been censored out and replaced with Oppression Studies: writings by third-rate authors who whine about America’s oppressive society.
2. Victimology. Every group is entitled to claim minority status as victims except white males and Christians.
3. Multiculturalism. That’s a code word for the false notion that Western Civilization is bad and every other group, whether civilized or not, is superior.
4. Radical feminism. The entire world must be seen as one big conspiracy against women, and all men are guilty, both individually and as a group. Joking about this doctrine is not permitted; several colleges have even banned jokes. At Arizona State University, drama professor Jared Sakren was fired for producing Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew; Shakespeare is not Politically Correct.
5. Affirmative action. Reverse discrimination in admissions, grading, and employment for groups that proclaim their status as “victims” is not only mandatory, it is non-debatable.
6. Having sex with anybody, anytime, is OK and may not be criticized. Dating is out; “hooking up” is in. The social acceptance of pre-marital and homosexual sex and activism is non-debatable.
7. Tolerance. That’s a code word meaning tolerance for Politically Correct views, but not for the Politically Incorrect. Tolerance requires conformity to P.C. views, and hundreds of colleges have speech codes.
8. Christianity is Politically Incorrect. In some colleges, students are not permitted to turn in papers that identify historic dates as B.C. (Before Christ) or A.D. (Anno Domini), but must use B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era).
In a section titled “Feminist Propaganda In Textbooks,” Schlafly analyzes a women's and gender studies textbook she came across, which she asserts is “anti-marriage, anti-homemaker, pro-abortion, and pro-lesbian.”
The authors teach that the roles of male and female are merely learned behaviors and you can change to the other gender if you want to. Bisexuality and trans-sexuality are presented as normal. The textbook includes personal stories of adults who changed their gender. The book explains that heterosexuality exists only because of socially imposed stereotypes and homophobia, and has nothing to do with nature or morality. Students are encouraged to organize a National Coming Out Day on their campus.
A couple of articles in this textbook discuss that it is common for women to be bisexual. Of course, the book endorses abortion. The traditional model of the family is presented as only one of many forms of family. The book teaches that married women should be liberated from marriage and turn their children over to the state to be raised. This college textbook has a radical feminist political agenda: anti-marriage, anti-homemaker, pro-abortion, and pro-lesbian. College students should not waste their tuition dollars taking women’s studies courses.
In a section on diversity, Schlafly criticizes colleges for promoting the “offbeat concepts” of multiculturalism, which she insists is “just another college fad to put down Western civilization.”
It’s important for students to know before they go to college that diversity doesn’t mean allowing conservatives to speak on campus, either as visiting lecturers or professors, except for occasional tokenism. Diversity on college campuses doesn’t mean giving fair coverage to the ideas and achievements of Western civilization, but it does mean featuring a lot of offbeat concepts. It’s important for students to know that multiculturalism doesn’t mean tolerance and respect for all cultures. It’s just another college fad to put down Western civilization.
Schlafly, citing sexual assault prevention policies, concludes that “college is a dangerous place for men.”
