ABSTRACT
Sarah Palin did achieve a historic milestone in becoming the first Republican woman to gain the vice presidential nomination of her party. But whether or not this was a victory for gender equality remained a controversial question. Was Palin a feminist role model—younger, with a more expansive and less doctrinaire definition of empowerment—or an anti-feminist throwback? Was she a victim of sexism during the campaign, or a beneficiary of John McCain's chivalrous protection? Framing Palin in terms of feminism involved highly contested narratives throughout the election season.
