Today my co-author Jennifer Ginsberg and I have a piece on the cover page of MomLogic.com about Sarah Palin’s courageous choice to have Trig.

Because links were not included in our piece, I wanted to respectfully respond here, and on my blog, to commenters who have expressed doubt that self-described feminists actually attacked Sarah Palin in a vicious manner. Here are some links, which ran in my original piece about Sarah Palin on The Huffington Post, to some examples of over-the-top “feminist” rage and hatred.

Here also is a link to Maureen Dowd’s column in which the noted feminist characterizes Sarah Palin, at that time one of our nation’s only female governors, as “Caribou Barbie.” I stand by my contention that Dowd was anti-feminist and hypocritical in disparaging Sarah Palin in this manner. I know Dowd’s style is snarky, but I doubt even a notoriously snarky male columnist who characterized a prominent liberal female politician as a Barbie doll would get away with such blatant sexism. (As a side note, I doubt that Dowd and other feminists would have dismissed Sarah Palin in such a sexist manner had she been a plainer-looking woman).

I am not trying to discredit feminism, or to suggest Sarah Palin’s attackers represent all feminists. But I maintain it was hypocritical to diminish one of our nation’s only female Governors as “Caribou Barbie,” to publicly express violent fantasies towards her, or to condemn her for seeking high office after giving birth to a special needs child, and claim to be a feminist. The above are, quite simply, actions feminists would condemn, and rightly so, were they expressed by men towards a female politician, especially a liberal one.

It seems Sarah Palin’s beauty and her pro-life views gave some people, including some who claim to be feminists, license, in their own minds, to violate standards of decency and fairness that they demand that others respect.

Have PoliticalMavens.com delivered to your inbox in a daily digest by clicking here