Feminists have spent the past year in ideological contortions over President Clinton's transgressions, but that doesn't mean they've lost their voice on other important causes -- like the decision by the U.S. Mint to terminate the failed Susan B. Anthony dollar coin and replace it with one bearing the image of Sacagawea, the 16-year-old female Indian guide and interpreter who traveled with Lewis and Clark on their westward expedition.
The first line of attack came from the National Organization for Women, which declared earlier this year that it opposed dislodging Susan B. Anthony. According to a NOW newsletter, the fear was that "a specific woman leader" would be replaced by an "abstract 'Liberty.'" Yes, this would have been an outrage.
Now that the mint is proceeding with Sacagawea, the line of attack has changed. The problem, according to a recent alert from the Washington Feminist Faxnet, is that the young Indian will appear on the coin carrying a child on her back (she was six months pregnant when the journey began). "WFF has nothing against kids," cautioned a December 11 fax from the group, "but a strong woman with a place in history that has nothing to do with motherhood should be shown as an individual. We don't see coins with George Washington or Abraham Lincoln stressing their role as fathers."
Ahhh, just when THE SCRAPBOOK was about to despair over the future of feminism.