As an observer of feminism, self-described feminists entertain me with their repeated, “is she a feminist” or “is she feminist enough” game. By this point, they’ve done it to literally every one in the public spotlight with two X chromosomes.

I’ve written at length about the Sarah Palin debates, which always veer from her political views to making personal attacks and even threats. As I pointed out yesterday, they’ve even done it to Lady Gaga. Remember their attacks on Taylor Swift? Now, the target is Tina Fey.

Perhaps portraying Sarah Palin on SNL rubbed off some of Fey’s feminism?

It all started with a few gals on the fem blogs whining about Fey mocking single women and emphasizing stereotypes. The Frisky has a wrap-up of what I’ve seen the last few days on the interwebs.

In a nutshell, the feminist whiners bloggers are upset because they had all these expectations for Fey to channel all of Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan to change society through her humor. Bottom line: Fey may be a liberal, but she’s a comedian. She’s going to do anything to get a laugh.

This is what Fey does best. She is hilarious and quite funny…in that one character. Almost every movie role or character she plays is always the hopeless single woman. Her role in Mean Girls was a recent divorcee. In Baby Momma, she was a career woman with a ticking biological clock. Liz Lemon, her 30 Rock character is the neurotic single woman. I haven’t seen her new movie yet, but she actually plays a married woman! Quite the departure.

I’d say that Fey is more typecast, but it’s more fun to debate if she’s a feminist or not!

Feminists did this to themselves. By their own admission, they proudly state that there’s no one definition of feminism. Some people even call it “feminisms” to capture the many versions of the movement. To feminists, everything is a “woman” issue from the economy, health care, abortion, workforce, education, sports, entertainment, etc.

Thus, when you refuse to define what your movement is, how do you have the right to decide who is a feminist and who isn’t? Isn’t that a double-standard?

This is hardly new. While all liberal “isms” are doomed to keep repeating failed ideas (social welfare programs, anyone?), feminists have always attacked their own ranks in search of the “perfect feminist.” In the early days of the radical women’s liberation movement of the 1960s, no one could emerge as a leader because there wasn’t a woman capable of fulfilling all the expectations. She couldn’t be white and black, rich and poor, educated and working class, lesbian and straight. Quite simply, when you claim to have a big tent movement, you’ll never find the perfect leader or icon.

Hence the last 30 years of “Is she a feminist” game. It’s a no-win situation for them, but then it keeps the fem blogs distracted and gives me something to laugh at. Keep it up!

In March, Tina Fey will appear on the cover of Vogue. According to an excerpt of the article in PopEater, she blames the backlash of playing Sarah Palin on being a woman:

“The partisan nature of politics continues to appall me. I’m almost paralyzed by my inability to see things in black-and-white… I felt uncomfortable to be in that discussion. The weird thing is, when Darrell Hammond or Will Ferrell or Dana Carvey did an impersonation of a president, no one assumed it was personal, but because Sarah Palin and I are both women and people think women are meaner to each other, everyone assumed it was personal.

Granted the writer of Mean Girls is probably going to see this as personal, and I believe there may be some truth behind her view. As Fey notes in the article, SNL has a long history of satirizing politicians, and they are never flattering. Why the backlash when she played Palin?

It may have resulted from what she said last year at the Emmy’s:

“I want to be done playing this lady Nov. 5,” she said. “So if anybody can help me be done playing this lady Nov. 5, that would be good for me.”

With that short statement, Fey went from satirizing the 2008 Election to inserting her personal opinion. Will Ferrall, Dana Carvey, Chevy Chase and Darrell Hammond mocked politicans, but they never made it personal. Fey crossed the line and made the impersonation appear mean-spirited. It was no longer lampooning a politician but was a political ploy to bring her down.

I like Tiny Fey. Mean Girls is a favorite movie (although Baby Momma was terrible), and I enjoy watching 30 Rock. However Fey lost a lot of respect the moment she publicly opposed Palin. That’s were the backlash started.