Obama is what a feminist looks like

There’s been a bit of feminist furore over Ms. magazine’s new cover (http://www.msmagazine.com/) – Clark Kent-Obama revealing his ‘This is what a feminist looks like’ t-shirt. Some are angry that Ms. put a man as ‘Superman’ on the cover – as if women need rescued. Some think it betrays Hillary.  Some are angered by the patriarchal imagery. Salon article here: http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/01/13/ms_cover/index.html

I like the photo. My initial reaction was, ‘yeah right, Obama the feminist, I’ll believe it when I see it’. And some disappointment that Ms. buys into his schtick. But after that initial reaction I thought, it’s awesome that he allowed himself to be photographed in such a t-shirt and put on the cover of America’s most prominent and obvious feminist magazine. It is definitely a point for him in my reckoning (in which he is way into the negative points).

Frankly, I wonder if I would have got the Superman reference – it seems to me the photo can just as easily reference a strip-tease.

And I agree with those feminists who see the cover as a challenge. Come on Obama, show us your feminist credentials!

Anyone else have any thoughts on the cover?