THE WAR AGAINST THE WAR AGAINST BOYS: Natasha at the watch has a thought-provoking post up on why conservatives can't be feminists, which--if Natasha hadn't defined conservative feminism out of existence--could be seen as explicating the differences between liberal and conservative feminism, which may or may not be the same differences as those between gender and equity feminism. You can tell which side she is on:

American conservatives have a platform at home that consists of: Rolling back birth control options that make it easier for families to manage their lives. Rolling back family leave statutes that make it easier for parents to spend time with their children. Gutting whistle-blower protections and worker safety regulations. Reducing educational and after-school program spending. Diverting law enforcement resources from violent crime to 'moral' or, essentially, thought crime. And reducing the availability of health care while at the same time increasing health hazards.

These issues are modern feminism in a very definite way. The conservative response? Let them wear miniskirts. As long as you have the right to doll yourself up in public and don't have to wear a headscarf, you shouldn't worry whether you can afford college, if you can find a job, if your children have decent textbooks, or about what they're putting in the water. Don't worry your pretty, little heads.

There is some truth here--witness all the vapid blonde chicks on Fox News. And equity feminism is often defending the rights of hookers and strippers to make money, if only because gender feminism has no interest in defending those lines of work. My main point that I would want to make to Natasha is: didn't feminism win? Isn't everybody a feminist now? Excepting those who take an overt political stance against it, of course. But isn't feminism an established part of our culture now? There should be as many feminisms as there are subsections of our culture, and I don't think you can define them into being illegitmate--they're the mutiple heirs of the feminist revolution. I feel like Blonde Guy #1 in Wrath Of Khan: "Ma'am, NO! You have EQUAL RIGHTS UNDER THE LAW! You can do anything now--" "Damn your eyes, FULL IMPULSE POWER!" "Patriarchy...no, you can't get away...from hell's heart, I stab at thee...for hate's sake, I spit my last breath....at thee.....patriarcheeeeee....."