The Feminist Furor Has Finally Passed
April 23, 2006 10:13 PM EST
by Nathan Tabor

After years of holding America a virtual hostage, old-fashioned radical feminism appears to be just about dead.

But don’t take my word for it. No less a feminist authority than Maureen Dowd, the New York Times columnist who has never met a Bush—or Bush policy—that she’s actually liked, has all but written feminism’s obituary in her book, Are Men Necessary? Dowd notes that feminism “lasted for a nanosecond, but the backlash has lasted forty years.”

I would take issue with that statement. Feminism has been thwarting America’s growth and vitality for years—but, finally, a number of women are rejecting it for the silliness it is. Dowd writes, “It’s the season of prim, stay-in-the-background First Lady Laura Bush, not assertive two-for-the-price-of-one First Lady Hillary. Where would you even lodge a feminist protest these days?”

The signs of the decay of feminism can be seen far beyond Pennsylvania Avenue. In cities across the U.S., women are chucking the corporate world and embracing Barney’s world instead. They have found fulfillment where their grandmothers did—in the home, raising their children, offering love and support to their husbands. Many do not consider domestic work a drudgery—rather, they see it as a comforting alternative to the 24/7 career life. the rest