Sarah Wilder: That's 'Mrs. Phyllis Schlafly' to you!
April 21, 2026
The feminist-minded, 2020 documentary “Mrs. America” seeks to paint the life of conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, and traditional working women like her, as thoroughly contradictory. Schlafly’s political activism, fame, and defense of traditional gender roles are placed in stark contrast to her submission to her husband and his career ambitions as if to argue that the two things cannot peacefully co-exist.
In one particular scene, Schlafly, portrayed by Cate Blanchett, snaps at a young feminist who calls her “Ms. Schlafly,” the trendy honorific of 1960s and 1970s feminism which signaled a certain sassy independence in contrast to the culturally-accepted practice of women taking their husbands’ last names. Schlafly, although a political powerhouse herself, wanted to be known as “Mrs.,” signaling to the world that her first identity was wrapped up in that of her husband’s.
