John Vargas

What’s interesting about O’Donnell is that she heightens the contradictions inherent in right-wing women’s activism to an almost absurd degree. It’s not just that she’s an anti-gay activist with a lesbian sister. She’s also a family-values champion who is single, childless, and sharing a house with a man, Christian rock singer David Hust. She cut her teeth working for an organization that railed against government attempts to foster gender equality, and argued that wives should “graciously submit” to their husbands. Then she took a job at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and, feeling herself trapped in a culture that mandated female submission, sued under Title XII of the Civil Rights Act for $6.9 million.