As the Washington Post reported yesterday, there is a new push afoot to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which “faltered a quarter-century ago when the measure did not gain the approval of three-quarters of the state legislatures.”
That being the case, we will probably start hearing a lot from the Eagle Forum’s Phyllis Schlafly, who ironically established her reputation and career as a right-wing powerhouse by single-mindedly setting out to fight the ERA.
And judging by her appearance at Bates College yesterday, it appears as if Schlafly is already in full anti-feminism battle mode:
For nearly two hours, she belittled the feminist movement as "teaching women to be victims," decried intellectual men as "liberal slobs" and argued that feminism "is incompatible with marriage and motherhood."
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One came when Schlafly asserted women should not be permitted to do jobs traditionally held by men, such as firefighter, soldier or construction worker, because of their "inherent physical inferiority."
"Women in combat are a hazard to other people around them," she said. "They aren't tall enough to see out of the trucks, they're not strong enough to carry their buddy off the battlefield if he's wounded, and they can't bark out orders loudly enough for everyone to hear."
At one point, Schlafly also contended that married women cannot be sexually assaulted by their husbands.
"By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don't think you can call it rape," she said.
