Feminism should embrace a more diverse range of women and avoid being associated with a single political party, according to feminist and social critic Camille Paglia.
“I don’t like the way feminism has gotten bogged down by being identified with one party: my party, the Democratic Party,” Paglia said Friday during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s radio show.
Paglia, the author of “Free Women, Free Men: Sex, Gender, Feminism,” said she does not like the current direction of the feminist movement and would prefer to see it include a larger swath of women.
“I want feminism to include women who are conservative, women who are church-going, women who are into home-schooling and so on. As well as women like me, who favor total abortion rights,” she said.
In her Friday interview, Paglia also took aim at entertainers who fancy themselves political commentators.
“They had every right to say what they wanted,” she said of the women who spoke at January’s Women’s March. “It just is these actresses and these performers — and I am a teacher at an art school and feel very close to the arts — they seem to think that the only way they can have any importance in the world is by showing they’re deep thinkers about politics. And in fact it is embarrassing.”
Paglia also highlighted her particular disappointment with Madonna’s recent attempt at political relevance.
“Madonna is one of the most important figures in the history of modern women, actually — with the work she did in the 1980s and 1990s, in making pro-sex feminism possible — but she is in a terrible decline,” Paglia said. “And she should mind her own business and focus on her own creative life, because as a political commentator, it’s an embarrassment.”
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