Phyllis Schlafly has been a
fly-in-the-ointment of
feminism for a long time, but most interestingly, by being outspoken, having a successful career, and gaining popularity/notoriety she is as much a role model for women as
Gloria Steinem and other supporters of the
Equal Rights Amendment.
Mrs. Schlafly was born in 1924 in
St. Louis, Missouri. She attended
Washington University and at the age of 23 had earned a Master’s Degree in
Political Science from
Harvard University. 7 years after graduating from Harvard she ran for
Congress, but was defeated. After being defeated she worked as a librarian, and as a researcher for several congressmen, including
Claude Bakewell. Her time spent from then until 1964 when she published her first book
A Choice Not An Echo, about
Barry Goldwater was spent raising her six children.
With the publishing of that book
Mrs. Schlafly was viewed as a spokesperson for
Conservative America. Again in 1970 she ran for Congress and was again defeated. Turning her energy to other activities she began to campaign against the
Equal Rights Amendment claiming that it would erode families and weaken the role of the
mother in the household. She also argued that if taken literally, the
Equal Rights Amendment could be used to push such issues as
unisex bathrooms and would require women to fight in
combat.
Mrs. Schlafly created two lobbying organizations:
Stop ERA and
Eagle Forum and used both to push for the defeat of the
Equal Rights Amendment. Still finding herself with prodigious energy
Mrs. Schlafly started the
Schlafly Report which has been published continually since 1976. In 1978 she returned to
Washington University to earn a law degree. She also became a
Phi Beta Kappa member.
Even though the
Equal Rights Amendment was defeated in 1982
Mrs. Schlafly continued to lead the
Eagle Forum to lobby for other conservative issues. In 1985, she was asked by
President Reagan to sit on the
Commission of the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution. She held that position until 1991.
In 1992 she was named the
Illinois Mother of the Year.
She is the author of 13 books total, including
The Power of a Positive Woman and
Pornography’s Victims.
Despite her record achievements, outstanding skills, obvious intelligence, and drive, she feels that the most important place for a woman to be is at home raising her children. I will leave it to the reader to decide if she is correct.
Editors Note: Phyllis Schafly died of cancer on September 5, 2016, at the age of 92.