In February 1996, Phyllis Schlafly published a column titled ‘The Feminists Seek Unfair and Unattainable Goals.’ She argued that feminism was becoming obsolete, now focusing on unfair and unrealistic goals. Feminism’s initial quest for a “gender-neutral” society had evolved into an obsession with victimology and affirmative action, aiming for reverse discrimination instead of equality. Phyllis said, “Feminism is in its death throes because it seeks unattainable goals at variance with reality, common sense, and fairness.”
Phyllis criticized “equal pay for equal work.” Equal pay had been legally mandated for decades. She argued, “What they really want is reverse discrimination quotas to give women equal pay for unequal work.” She pointed out that the assertion that women earn 72 cents for every dollar a man earns is misleading. This earnings difference is a consequence of different choices in work hours and career paths rather than systemic discrimination.
Phyllis said “Married men with children earn the most, while married women with children earn the least,” highlighting the multi-faceted nature of pay difference that feminists ignore. She argued that the primary income gap was between married women and everyone else, a result of voluntary domestic decisions rather than an evil conspiring patriarchy.
Schlafly also went after the feminist focus on education-related disparities. Women and men tend to pursue different fields of study, leading to different income levels based on those choices. She wrote, “Personal choices produced those results; no Gestapo forced women to major in fields that pay less.” By comparing the degrees earned by men and women, she showed how these choices influenced earnings, rather than attributing the disparities to discrimination.
Feminists still harp on these same issues today, and they are still just as incorrect. Phyllis crafted the silver bullet arguments to take down feminism, and they are still true today.
