The Real Phyllis Schlafly: Hollywood vs. Reality

In the 1970's the Equal Rights Amendment was on its way to swift ratification, when a woman named Phyllis Schlafly launched a grassroots effort to torpedo the amendment by showing women why they didn't want it.

Wednesday night, F/X and Hulu are teaming up to present "Mrs. America," a multi-part examination of the battle over the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970's and 1980's.  Unsurprisingly, the Hollywood story line is that the amendment was a good thing and Mrs. Schlafly was wrong to oppose it.

According to Schlafly's daughter Anne Schlafly Cori, "Mrs. America" gets her mother's hair and wardrobe exactly right but fails to capture her warmth and ability to inspire thousands of women.  It also badly mischaracterizes the Schlafly marriage.

In this podcast, Schlafly Cori explains why her mother jumped in to lead the fight against the ERA, what she thinks of efforts by Democrats to claim they've ratified the amendment long after the window of opportunity expired, and why she thinks the resurgence is all about abortion.

From: Radio America News