Sarah Palin: Flagship of the New Feminism?

When I heard Sarah Palin was a member of Feminists for Life obviously I thought first of Pope John Paul II. This is because the first time I encountered the elucidation of a "new feminism", which incorporated respect for all life, born and unborn, it was while reading his encyclical The Gospel of Life. The pertinent excerpt is in part 99.

99. In transforming culture so that it supports life, women occupy a place, in thought and action, which is unique and decisive. It depends on them to promote a "new feminism" which rejects the temptation of imitating models of "male domination", in order to acknowledge and affirm the true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society, and overcome all discrimination, violence and exploitation.

Rough words here for the "old feminism"; the Holy Father is basically saying "You became as bad as the boys whose behavior you rightly decried, girls." Then he turns to the positive and begins to expound upon the "true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society" by quoting earlier remarks from Vatican II and his Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem:

You are called to bear witness to the meaning of genuine love, of that gift of self and of that acceptance of others which are present in a special way in the relationship of husband and wife, but which ought also to be at the heart of every other interpersonal relationship. The experience of motherhood makes you acutely aware of the other person and, at the same time, confers on you a particular task: "Motherhood involves a special communion with the mystery of life, as it develops in the woman's womb ... This unique contact with the new human being developing within her gives rise to an attitude towards human beings not only towards her own child, but every human being, which profoundly marks the woman's personality". A mother welcomes and carries in herself another human being, enabling it to grow inside her, giving it room, respecting it in its otherness. Women first learn and then teach others that human relations are authentic if they are open to accepting the other person: a person who is recognized and loved because of the dignity which comes from being a person and not from other considerations, such as usefulness, strength, intelligence, beauty or health. This is the fundamental contribution which the Church and humanity expect from women. And it is the indispensable prerequisite for an authentic cultural change.

Emphasis mine. Because I couldn't help thinking of widely-reported life affirming remarks regarding her little boy, Trig, who was born with Down's Syndrome:

Palin knew there were complications while she was pregnant but never considered an abortion. When he was born, she said, "I'm looking at him right now and I see perfection. Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking: in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?" Undaunted, she held a meeting as governor three days after giving birth. "I just put down the BlackBerrys and pick up the breast pump," she said of her life as a working mother.

It would seem to me that Sarah Palin is someone who is intimately acquainted with the qualities of usefulness, strength, intelligence, beauty and health in her own person, and yet that is not what she ultimately values the most. She loves her son for the dignity of his own otherness, his personhood. From her simple words, we see the attitude of accepting, unconditional love toward another person which the Holy Father says is the "profound mark of the woman's personality."

"This is the fundamental contribution which the Church and humanity expect from women. And it is the indispensable prerequisite for an authentic cultural change."

Does this not make her a more than adequate spokesperson for this New Feminism, if not a veritable embodiment?

So, unlike New Coke and "the New Math", I have to say I like the New Feminism better than the old stuff. And just in the interest of full disclosure, I do not own any stock in brassiere companies.

(What's the "V" for anyway, Betty?)