I've been tough on Andrew Sullivan in the past when he tried to draw larger political conclusions from sporting events, but I think he has it exactly right on why Annika Sorenstam's 36 holes at the Colonial last week generated so much positive attention:
She's not indistinguishable from the men; but she is competitive with them. She's different but equal. Americans are far more comfortable with this kind of social message - and for a good reason. It's about integration, not separatism. It's about personal achievement, not group grievance. It's about merit, not complaint. It's about golf, not politics. Sorenstam cannot be accused of claiming any "special rights." She's embracing the old American virtue of doing your best against the best, and not letting anything - gender, race, class, religion, sexual orientation - get in the way.
Sullivan is right on all counts, and in a way that many of the feminists in Sorenstam's corner probably can't, and won't ever, understand.
