OFFICIAL LIVEBLOG - Leadership: What is "Pro-Woman" in a Post-Palin World?

Session Description: 2008 was a volatile year for women in the public eye. Not just for those women, but for all women as we watched them in action and the reaction to them. BlogHer.com featured substantive, weighty and (mostly) civil conversations that dug up ongoing questions that dog all of us that consider ourselves “Pro-Woman”:

• How do we address the rift between many women of color and the perception of the mainstream feminist movement?
• Can pro-choice and pro-life women find common “pro-woman” ground?
• If we believe that women are true thought leaders and change agents for the world and that women’s leadership is more important than ever in turbulent times, how do we reconcile this with the fact that women certainly do not all agree?!
• What does it mean to be “pro-woman” when woman are anything but a monolithic bloc who think…or vote the same?

Join the conversation to answer all these questions and more. Dedicated feminist Danielle Henderson moderates this conversation with conservative libertarian blogger Emily Zanotti, liberal feminist blogger Veronica Arreola, and conservative Fausta Wertz, who blogs about Latin American politics, news and current events. Join them to discuss what it means to be Pro-Woman in today's world.

Session: 

Pro woman – how women treat other women, not feminist.

Emily Zanotti - being pro-woman can get you labeled as a feminist. But it might be interesting to figure out what a feminist is and how it applies to you.

Fausta Wetrz – Representing fiscal conservatives. Faustasblog.com
Blog about politics and pol opinions and how they pertain to stories where American politics are tied to Latin America. Never mentions families.
We cannot look at Latin American politics as we look at US Politics, her background helps to translate it for readers.
Not a primarily woman oriented blog. 60% readers are men.
If you define yourself as a woman blogger, you're going to alienate 50% of the population.

Virginia Arreola – Women can't identify with any political party. None represent everything we believe or want. She addresses the issues on the way politicians affect real people.

Audience – Feminist is such a loaded word. Loaded sterotype. Is there another word we can use? We align with feminist values. Another word that means the same thing, but doesn't have the negative values.

EZ – could call it anything and the anti-feminists would beat it to death. There are people in the world who are scared of our power.

Danielle Henderson – More damaging to not use the word and to be scared of it.

VA – Need to teach people to own the word.
Feminism represents a set of personal values, not political values.
The people who are threatened are the most vocal.
Reaching out to people.
Something missing in society that doesn't value women and mothers. Don't value their right to have choices.

Audience – Also about men having to own the word. Not just the women.

Audience – Feminism means that we support women. But how do you reconcile being pro woman and feminist when you witness women not supporting women. For example the “let me flash my tits for attention” culture on some blogs.

FW – Women won't be taken seriously until every woman who wants to be taken seriously acts like she wants to be taken seriously.

EZ – Not pro-woman, feminist. She is pro-woman for women who are pro-women. Sarah Palin, not pro-woman! She's going to look at how they treat other women and how their policies affect other women.
If someone is as high ranking as C Rice would rather be out shopping than dealing with the crisis in NOLA as the hurricane arrives, that's a problem.

VA – Can't dismiss women, not be happy for women's achievements, if you don't agree with the women making the strides.
Might hate Sarah Palin, meant a TON for conservative women. Might open the eyes of other conservative women – she was badly treated. Maybe it made them more feminist.

Audience – Sarah Palin did just that – didn't act seriously – winking etc. Going in the direction we're trying to get away from.

DH – Lots of people are dismissive of BH because they see people discussing shoes, clothes, etc. How does that impact the pro-woman stance?

Liz Rizzo – Everyday Goddess – We should talk about shoes and in the next breath politics. Teaches that women are multi-faceted and can talk about a good pair of shoes after talking about Sarah Palin

Audience – Pro-Woman is not a political statement, it's our actions toward women in society. Whether or not you believe SP was the right candidate at the right time, but what happened to her is important. Because it dashed the hopes of lots of women who saw themselves in the political arena. Stepped back for fear of receiving the same repercussions.
You don't have to be supportive, but you don't have to be destructive. Support achievements and what they mean for ALL women. Even if you don't agree with them.

EZ – The attacks on SP woke up the conservative women who had watched the attacks on other important women in politics without saying anything.

VA – Earn more respect if you disagree with people's political opinion's than their personal appearance.

Lisa Stone – Is Sarah Palin a feminist?

DH – Yes, she thinks so, but only when it suits her politically. Not a consistent feminist.

VA – Doesn't think SP thinks she's a feminist. The word has a stigma when it comes to conservatives.

Audience – She's a strong woman, but not a feminist – doesn't support the rights of ALL women. She just supports the choices she's made. 

Audience – Men don't think about pro-women vs feminist. - Pie fights between one blogger and another. Men worry about pro-people. We need to see the big picture.

DH – Why do women have to be feminists 24/7 and men don't have to be held to a task like that?

EZ – Uses her eyes to see the world the way it is. She's never “off.” Not easy.

FW – Don't get riled up and loud. Be assertive and polite when you point out that something offends you or you don't like it. Says more to your listeners and to the offender than going on a rampage.

Audience – Part of being a politician in this world is to prove yourself to be a good leader with good knowledge. Requirements for the job. It's not sexism to say that a given women needs to meet those requirements. It's not elitism to say that a working class candidate has to meet those requirements, not racism to say that a person of color needs to meet them too.
We should be talking about the mindset that says it was ok to put SP on the ticket.

EZ – Mindset that put her there is the same mindset that put GWB on the ticket. She's the female W.

VA – Lots of it was media portrayal.

FW – Any of you who are putting down a woman, any woman, the way SP was attacked... If you're going to attack someone on their politics, attack them on their politics. Personal attacks have no place in the discussion.

EZ – Embrace the positive. As women we are different and different doesn't mean worse.

VA – It's not just a political problem. It's in every aspect of your lives. Women's issues are out there buried under politics and women arguing with themselves.

Audience – Feminism not something you can turn on or off based on political expediency.
Palin maybe opened the door for the women who got pissed off – gave them the fire to beat that door in.

Jessica Rosenberg (aka kikadesa, kikarose, and sometimes just plain Rose) is an aspiring novelist and freelance writer who blogs daily at It's My Life... and posts frequent reviews and giveaways at The Lemonade Stand.