An Open Letter to Oprah

Dear Oprah,

I really don’t appreciate being made to eat my own words. It was, after all, just over a year ago that I defended you in your decision not to have Sarah Palin on your program. It was, after all, just over a year ago that I vehemently defended your pro-woman stance. Not that you, a popular culture goddess, need my defense. But my, how times change.

Today I tuned into your show to see you reverse that decision; to watch you interview Sarah Palin, a woman who it is suffice to say I will never see eye to eye with. I expected to be taken aback at least once during the course of that interview. I expected to find words coming from inside the television screen that would make my jaw drop, my head shake. I never expected those words — the ones that would leave my stomach sick with disdain — to come from your mouth. I never expected to walk away from that program feeling that you may actually be less pro-woman than Palin herself.

If it weren’t enough that you chose to question Ms. Palin on how she would handle holding one of the highest offices in the land with children at home even after readily acknowledging that we don’t ask these things of men, when she answered that she would handle it much in the same way any other politician does you retorted, and I quote, “they have WIVES!”

Wives, Ms. Winfrey? WIVES? Because as we all know good little wives are waiting at home taking care of the kids and cooking a casserole to make it all easier? WIVES? One must have a WIFE in order to juggle holding a political office and maintaining a family life? Please, explain this to me, Ms. Winfrey.

Explain how it is that you honestly feel it acceptable to question a woman’s fitness for a job in any way that you would not equally question a man’s? Tell me, why not just ask Sarah how she expected to perform her duties while grappling with PMS? At least that does fall wholly on the shoulders of women for good reason.

Today you gave weight to patriarchal non-sense, you took part in pushing women on their asses, you hurt us all. You should be ashamed of yourself. I know I am.

Tagged as: Feminism, Oprah, Sarah Palin