premiere of the "monstrous" woman of the week ~ Phyllis Schlafly

Welcome to the first in a series of biographical sketches that I plan to publish on Fridays.

These entries will briefly tell about women I believe have done many things to further the cause of Christ in America, and some even around the world, and have maintained a godly femininity while doing so. They will be women whose choices in life have also disqualified them from being given the godly woman status in some of today’s hyper-patriarchal circles, though the hypocrisy certainly has escaped some of these list keepers! Grab a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy! Oh, and feel free to emulate.

The distinct privilege of being the first "Monstrous" Woman of the Week goes to none other than Phyllis Schlafly. I could think of no other woman who deserves this honor more than she does, a woman who embodies the principles and character qualities of the true American Woman, a woman who stands as an example for all women today and for all the little girls and young women who will one day become wives and mothers in American homes. And, if I were George W. Bush, her name would have been at the top of my list to be Supreme Court Justice.

Best known for her courageous and undaunted battle against the Equal Rights Amendment, a brief biographical sketch of Mrs. Schlafly would certainly also include the following which I learned from the Eagle Forum website.

Phyllis Schlafly is America's best-known advocate of the dignity and honor that we as a society owe to the role of fulltime homemaker.

Mrs. Schlafly is a lawyer and served as a member of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, 1985-1991, appointed by President Reagan. She has testified before more than 50 Congressional and State Legislative committees on constitutional, national defense, and family issues.

Mrs. Schlafly is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Washington University, received her J.D. from Washington University Law School, and received her Master's in Political Science from Harvard University.

Mrs. Schlafly's monthly newsletter called 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.

Mrs. Schlafly is the author or editor of 20 books on subjects as varied as family and feminism (The Power of the Positive Woman), nuclear strategy (Strike From Space and Kissinger on the Couch), education (Child Abuse in the Classroom), child care (Who Will rock the Cradle?), and a phonics book (Turbo Reader). Her most recent book, Feminist Fantasies, is a collection of essays on feminism in the media, workplace, home, and the military. (Blogger’s note: Mrs. Schlafly’s most recent book is proof that to be a strong, educated, politically active woman, one does not have to belong in the feminist camp.)

Mrs. Schlafly is an attorney admitted to the practice of law in Illinois, Missouri, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She served (with the late Chief Justice Warren Burger) as a member of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, 1985-1991, appointed by President Reagan. She has testified before more than 50 Congressional and State Legislative committees on constitutional, national defense, foreign policy, education, tax, encryption, and family issues. She served five terms as a member of the Illinois Commission on the Status of Women, 1975-1985, appointed by the Illinois Legislature. She served as a member of the Administrative Conference of the United States, 1983-1986. She has filed several amicus curiae briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal.

Mrs. Schlafly received her B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1944 (Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Sigma Alpha, Final Honors). She worked her way through college on the night shift at the St. Louis Ordnance Plant testing ammunition by firing rifles and machine guns and as a laboratory technician investigating misfires. She received her Master's in Government from Harvard University in 1945. She received her J.D. from Washington University Law School in 1978.

Mrs. Schlafly was the 1992 Illinois Mother of the Year. She and her late husband of 44 years are the parents of six children (John, Bruce, Roger, Liza, Andrew, and Anne) and 14 grandchildren. She taught all her children to read before they entered school and all had outstanding academic success: three lawyers, one physician, one Ph.D. mathematician, and one businesswoman.

In a ten-year battle, Mrs. Schlafly led the pro-family movement to victory over the principal legislative goal of the radical feminists, called the Equal Rights Amendment. She assembled the movement called Stop ERA. She is America's most articulate and successful opponent of the radical feminist movement. She has appeared on virtually every national television and radio talk show and has lectured or debated on more than 500 college and university campuses. Other political battles she led and won defeating the national movement in the 1980s to call a new Constitutional Convention.

The economist George Gilder wrote in his book Men & Marriage (Pelican, 1987):

"When the histories of this era are seriously written, Phyllis Schlafly will take her place among the tiny number of leaders who made a decisive and permanent difference. She changed the political landscape of her country. In fact, by the measure of the odds she faced and overcame, Schlafly's achievement excels all the others'. . . . She won in part because she is one of the country's best speakers and debaters and its best pamphleteer since Tom Paine. She won because of her indefatigable energy and will power, mobilizing women in state after state."

Joseph Lelyveld wrote in the New York Times Magazine (April 17, 1977):

"Phyllis Schlafly has become one of the most relentless and accomplished platform debaters of any gender to be found on any side of any issue."

On another interesting note, in September 2005, Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum awarded Margaret “Peggy” Elizabeth Phillips, wife of Howard Phillips and mother of Doug Phillips “Homemaker of the Year" which was mentioned on Doug's blog in August of 2005 as being quite a prestigious award!