A better brand of feminism

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in urging women this week to support Hillary Clinton, said, “There’s a special place in Hell for women who don’t help other women.” The insinuation was that women are required to vote for female candidates. In her exit from the Republican presidential race Wednesday, Carly Fiorina took issue with that notion.

“To young girls and women across the country, I say: do not let others define you,” she said. “Do not listen to anyone who says you have to vote a certain way or for a certain candidate because you’re a woman. That is not feminism.”

John Stonestreet praised Fiorina’s definition of feminism and noted she is a strong leader because she is a woman, not despite it.

“A woman living out of her femininity … letting that be a part of her identity and a part of the difference she makes in the world, I saw some of that in Carly and I really, honestly, appreciated it,” Stonestreet said.

While male and female roles will shift over time, Stonestreet said, the inherent and equal worth of men and women does not change.

“The full equality of men and women is because of our fundamental identity as image-bearers of God. It’s not because we have equal capacities,” Stonestreet said. “Christians looking at this issue very often have confused roles and design. We’ve taken roles from a different culture and imposed them on the design as if that’s the only way to live out being either male or female.”

Fiorina acknowledged God as Creator of men and women as she closed out her campaign.

“A feminist is a woman who lives the life she chooses and uses all her God-given gifts,” she wrote on a statement in Facebook.

Stonestreet agreed.

“I hope young girls like my daughters will take more cues from her than Madeleine Albright’s ridiculous statement,” he said.

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