Phyllis Schlafly to lecture on family ideals

Conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly gives a talk titled Feminism vs. Conservatism: The Great Debate at Bates College at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, in Chase Hall Lounge, 56 Campus Ave.

Sponsored by the Bates College Republicans, the event is open to the public at no cost.

“Mrs. Schlafly’s talk will focus on the failures of feminism and the importance of the traditional family unit,” said Jonathan Browher, first vice president of the Bates College Republicans and a junior from Meredith, N.H. “She’ll challenge the perpetuated myth that the promotion of women’s rights is incompatible with the conservative movement.”

“With Schlafly’s expertise on women’s issues, the Bates community will have the opportunity to hear some novel ideas and insights about the state of the feminist movement today.”

Phyllis Schlafly has been a national leader of the conservative movement since the publication of her best-selling 1964 book, A Choice Not An Echo (Pere Marquette Press, 1964). She has been a prominent foe of abortion since 1972, when she started the national volunteer organization now called Eagle Forum. In a 10-year battle, Schlafly led the successful national opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment.

An articulate opponent of what she terms the radical feminist movement, Schlafly appears in debate on college campuses more frequently than any other conservative. She was named one of the 100 most important women of the 20th century by the Ladies’ Home Journal.

Schlafly’s monthly newsletter, The Phyllis Schlafly Report, is now in its 38th year. Her syndicated column appears in 100 newspapers, her radio commentaries are heard daily on 460 stations and her radio talk show on education called Phyllis Schlafly Live is heard weekly on 45 stations.

Schlafly is the author or editor of 20 books on subjects as varied as family and feminism, nuclear strategy, education, child care and phonics. Her most recent book, Feminist Fantasies (Spence Publishing, 2003), is a collection of essays on feminism in the media, workplace, home and the military.

Schlafly is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Washington University, received a doctorate in law from Washington University Law School and received her master’s in political science from Harvard University.