If Ms. Harpster truly believes that Palin embodies the feminist movement in her letter "Column has little research to support 'feminist' claims" (Sept. 22), then perhaps she should consider the facts. Palin aims to roll back women's reproductive rights through banning abortion, even in cases of incest and rape. Palin reportedly allies herself with notorious anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly, who in 1976 helped block the Equal Rights Amendment, which have guaranteed legal protection from gender discrimination. Palin continues to endorse abstinence-only education, which statistically increases unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Palin, finally, is running with a presidential candidate who opposes Fair Pay Act legislation that would ensure equal pay for men and women.

Maybe what Palin truly embodies is the right-wing, anti-feminist movement. Her triumph as a woman who balances work and family should be commended. But her track record suggests she is the exception to the glass ceiling, and hardly an enemy of institutionalized sexism. As a Femininisting.com blogger put it, "A woman candidate is not the same as a woman's candidate."

Harpster and Alyssa Owens are playing for the same team. The Palin-McCain campaign simply succeeded in dividing them through cultural politics. The end result is zombie feminism, where narrative matters more than action. Make no mistake: The lessons of feminism should unite, not segregate. If Harpster had done more research, she'd learn that women's rights are human rights.

As a nation, we would all do well to revisit feminism. Perhaps in doing so we might regain the footing that once propelled ideals of equality into the heart of America.

Benjamin Ogrodnik

senior-English and media studies

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In response to the letter "Column has little research to support 'feminist' claims" (Sept. 22), Sarah Palin's accomplishments as a working mother should be at least partially attributed to the pioneering work of our feminist forebears. However, she is not a woman who supports other women with her political policies, and is therefore not a feminist, let alone a feminist icon. Sarah Palin supports numerous policies that harm women. She has endorsed abstinence-only sex education, asked Alaskan women who were raped to pay for their own forensic rape kits and has a spotty history of support for birth control.

While I agree that her rise to power is formidable considering the obstacles in her path, I do not agree that she is an acceptable role model for girls and young women.

Brooke Di Leone

graduate-psychology