Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Stewart Schlafly (/ˈʃlæfli/; born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart; August 15, 1924 – September 5, 2016) was an American attorney, conservative activist,[2] and anti-feminist[2] spokesperson for the national conservative movement.[3] She held paleoconservative social and political views, opposed feminism, gay rights and abortion, and successfully campaigned against ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Phyllis Schlafly
September 5, 2016 (aged 92)
6, including Andrew
Thomas Schlafly (nephew)
Suzanne Venker (niece)
More than three million copies of her self-published book A Choice Not an Echo (1964), a polemic against Republican leader Nelson Rockefeller, were sold or distributed for free. Schlafly co-authored books on national defense and was critical of arms control agreements with the Soviet Union.[4] In 1972, Schlafly founded the Eagle Forum, a conservative political interest group, and remained its chairwoman and CEO until her death in 2016 while staying active in conservative causes.
Personal life[edit]
On October 20, 1949, she married attorney John Fred Schlafly Jr., a member of a wealthy St. Louis family; he died in 1993. His grandfather, August, immigrated in 1854 from Switzerland. In the late 1870s, the three brothers founded the firm of Schlafly Bros., which dealt in groceries, Queensware (dishes made by Wedgwood), hardware, and agricultural implements.[76] Fred and Phyllis Schlafly were both active Catholics. They linked Catholicism to Americanism and often exhorted Catholics to join the anti-communist crusade.[77]
Fred and Phyllis Schlafly moved across the Mississippi River to Alton, Illinois, and had six children: John, Bruce, Roger, Liza, Andrew, and Anne.[78] When her husband died in 1993, she moved to Ladue, Missouri. In 1992, their eldest son, lawyer John Schlafly, was outed as gay by Queer Week magazine.[17] He acknowledged that he was gay and stated that he agreed with his mother's opposition to same-sex marriage and extension of civil rights protection to gays and lesbians.[79] Their son Andrew, also a lawyer and activist, created the wiki-based Conservapedia.[80] Their daughter Anne Schlafly Cori, married to the son of Nobel-winning scientists Carl and Gerty Cori,[81] is chairman and treasurer of Eagle Forum.[82]
Schlafly was the aunt of conservative anti-feminist author Suzanne Venker; together they wrote The Flipside of Feminism: What Conservative Women Know – and Men Can't Say.[83]
Schlafly died of cancer on September 5, 2016, at her home in Ladue, Missouri, at the age of 92.[64][84]
Schlafly was the author of 26 books on subjects ranging from child care to phonics education. She wrote a syndicated weekly newspaper column for Creators Syndicate.[85]
Schlafly's published works include:
In popular culture[edit]
Phyllis Schlafly is mentioned extensively in the seventh episode of the third season of the comedy TV series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, titled "Marvelous Radio". Set in 1960, the episode sees Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) agreeing to participate in a live radio commercial for Schlafly. Initially, Midge is enthusiastic about the prospect of supporting a woman running for Congress. However, after learning about her views, which are portrayed as ultra-conservative and antisemitic, she changes her mind and refuses to speak her part, while already at the recording studio with the broadcast about to start.[86]
The FX miniseries Mrs. America also partially focuses on Schlafly's life and activism, with Cate Blanchett portraying Schlafly. Though some praise the series for its accuracy,[87] Schlafly's family members, among other critics, dispute the accuracy of several accounts in the series.[88][89]
Schlafly is briefly referred to in the Margaret Atwood novel The Testaments. The 2019 sequel to Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments is set in a dystopian theocratic state in which women are segregated by caste and social function, including wives, housekeepers, teachers, and impregnable women. In this setting is the "Schlafly Café" which is open to women in the "Aunt" or teacher caste.[90]