“When a man gives his opinion, he's a man.
When a woman gives her opinion, she's a bitch.”
When a woman stands up for herself and her beliefs, she is questioned, challenged even. Davis, an actress who died in 1989, makes a remarkable statement for her time. Almost a quarter of a century later, I still find these words exceptionally poignant. Somehow, a statement made by a woman seems less valid. Her credentials must be checked. Her status as a mother is brought into question. Yet, I have heard of no such infringement into the private fatherhood affairs of men when opinions so obviously ridiculous are made.
Sarah Palin had her ability to be a good mother brought into her campaign, yet I barely recall so much as a "poo-poo" being said when G. W. Bush Jr. exiled his daughter for her sexual orientation.
When a woman is unable to make a statement without being bombarded with questions of legitimacy, it is likely she will stop talking. Or if she continues to talk, she will be thought of as mental.
Angelina Jolie's role in Changeling represents this very idea.
What I find wholly upsetting is that we've spent so much time telling women they can be anything besides a house wife, that those who want to be (or are) housewives are criticized. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a housewife. It is also a choice. When feminists refuse to allow those who want to be housewives that choice, they are doing unto other women as men have done unto them.
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