Why Progressives Should Follow Feminism's Lead in 2012

Some progressives, disappointed in Obama's performance, are expressing apathy about the 2012 election. Feminists, however, facing an escalating "war on women" and recognizing the enormous political stakes, have been organizing with renewed energy. The "gender gap" that emerged from 1970s feminism has made women's votes such an important force that politicians who attack women's rights in order to rouse their base are at peril of rousing the ire of an expanding female voting bloc. It's time for progressives of every gender identity to join this bloc and follow our lead.

An overwhelming majority of female voters favor contraception and abortion—those most basic of women's rights. Many are so outraged by current attempts to limit reproductive freedom that they are organizing new boycotts, petition drives, debates, and mass demonstrations on behalf of gender justice. Women know that winning this election is essential because one party supports abortion and one opposes it, and because the Supreme Court balance—holding the fate of Roe vs. Wade—will be determined this year for a generation.

Recent events that have so provoked women focus on reproductive issues, particularly right-wing attempts to defund Planned Parenthood and to remove free birth control from comprehensive health care under the Affordable Care Act. These maneuvers generated so much organized resistance that they have mostly failed. In addition, Romney's proposals to increase military spending and balance the budget would drastically reduce social programs for mothers and children, the elderly, and the poor—all groups with female majorities. Even nuns are assailed as the Vatican formally reprimands the largest group of U.S. nuns for promoting "radical feminist themes" and focusing on poverty and economic justice while remaining "silent" about abortion and same-sex marriage.

These attacks are inciting a raucous feminist renewal, even within the Occupy movement. In New York's Occupy movement, at first feminism had so little voice and some women felt so unsafe at Zuccotti Park that in protest they formed

Outraged by the escalating "war on women," feminists nationwide are organizing new boycotts, petition drives, debates, and demonstrations. Here, feminists hold a general assembly at Occupy Wall Street in New York.

the women's caucus, Women Occupying Wall Street (WOW), which quickly took hold in other cities too. The founding statement of Occupy Austin, Texas, which explicitly rejected taking a position on such "divisive" issues as abortion, has provoked feminist outrage. Some women activists report that before WOW they were wary of the F-word, but they are now proud to organize explicitly as feminists. In New York City alone, important new feminist working groups have emerged from Occupy: one mounted the First Feminist General Assembly, which took place on May 17, attracted 300 people who agreed to assemble monthly, and has been taken up in other cities; an Occupy group called Feminist Resistance held an initial large public forum; and feminists have organized a series of fall courses on feminism in OccU, Occupy's Free University. What's more, these groups are doing outreach to every existing feminist organization they can locate of whatever wave and to people of every gender identity. As an organizing model for progressives for 2012, this may be it.

These are dangerous times and this election matters. A Romney victory would be a disaster for everyone, but particularly for women. In solidarity with feminists, all progressives, including those hesitant to engage in electoral politics, owe it to their sisters not only to vote but to become actively engaged.