Tammy K. Bruce (born August 20, 1962) is an American
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
radio host, author, and political commentator. Earlier she had been president of the Los Angeles chapter of the
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
. She is currently an on-air contributor to
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
and host of ''Get Tammy Bruce'' on
Fox Nation
Fox Nation is an American subscription video on demand service. Announced on February 20, 2018, and launching on November 27 of that year, it is a companion to Fox News Channel carrying programming of interest to its audience, including original ...
.
Career
Bruce holds a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
from the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
.
For seven years, Bruce served as president of the Los Angeles chapter of the
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
(NOW) (1990–1996). She was the youngest woman at the time to lead a major chapter of NOW.
Bruce served two years on NOW's board of directors, but later criticized the organization in one of her books. During the early 1990s, she spearheaded the campaign to publicly criticize the sexualized violence in the novel ''
American Psycho
''American Psycho'' is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan investment banker. Alison Kelly of ''The Observer'' notes that while "some countr ...
'', and led an effort to
boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
all titles by the book's publisher,
Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
, for a year.
In 1995, responding to the verdict in the
O. J. Simpson
Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed "Juice", is an American former football running back, actor, and broadcaster who played for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Once a popular figure ...
murder trial, Bruce said "What we need to teach our children is... not about racism, but is about violence against women″ and that her message to Simpson was "You are not welcome here, you are not welcome in this country, you are not welcome on our airwaves, you are not welcome in our culture." She also refused to discuss the issue on a talk show, reportedly saying "I don’t have time to argue with a bunch of black women; we’ve moved beyond that."
The NOW Executive Board voted to censure her for what it called these "racially insensitive comments".
In May 1996, Bruce resigned as president of Los Angeles NOW. Bruce claimed that the censure was due to her focus on
domestic violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
, as opposed to defense attorney
Johnnie Cochran
Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr.Adam Bernstei ''The Washington Post'', March 30, 2005; retrieved April 17, 2006. (; October 2, 1937 – March 29, 2005) was an American lawyer best known for his leadership role in the defense and criminal acquittal ...
's "racial issues" trial argument.
[Bruce, Tammy. "The New Thought Police," Random House, 2001.] Since then, Bruce has written about the dispute in her critique on what she sees as the failings of NOW and the
political left
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
in general. She has said that the
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
establishment in the U.S. has abandoned authentic feminism. Bruce resigned from NOW five months later, in May 1996. She launched a new organization, the
Women’s Progress Alliance with Denise Brown, the sister of
Nicole Brown Simpson
Nicole Brown Simpson (née Brown; May 19, 1959 – June 12, 1994) was the ex-wife of the former professional American football player, O. J. Simpson, to whom she was married from 1985 to 1992. She was the mother of their two children, Sydney an ...
, saying “We both have been controversial, and we both will remain controversial."
In 1997, she hosted an overnight weekend talk show on
KFI
KFI (640 AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel Class A stations. It was the first U.S. station west of Chi ...
. Bruce hosted a national radio program on
Talk Radio Network
Talk Radio Network (TRN) was an independent radio producer and syndicator of news and talk radio programming headquartered in Central Point, Oregon. TRN consists of a number of associated companies, which have launched or re-built some of the Un ...
throughout much of the 2000s.
In 2003, Bruce was appointed to serve on Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
's transition team after his successful recall election against
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...
.
In 2009, after President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
and his family had moved into the White House, Bruce said, "we've got trash in the White House."
Bruce returned to Talk Radio Network in November 2012 as a guest host during the move of ''
The Laura Ingraham Show
''The Laura Ingraham Show'' was a three-hour American radio show hosted by conservative Laura Ingraham. It was among the most popular radio shows broadcast in the United States. In 2016, the show ranked number 20 on the ''Talkers Magazine 201 ...
'' from TRN to Courtside Entertainment Group.. In 2014, Bruce created a short video for the conservative YouTube channel
Prager University
PragerU is an American advocacy group that creates videos promoting a conservative viewpoint on various political, economic, and sociological topics. It was co-founded by Allen Estrin and talk show host and writer Dennis Prager in 2009.
Despite ...
in which she summarized her criticisms of the contemporary feminist movement.
Bruce was the subject of controversy in May 2017, when appearing as a guest on
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
show ''
Tucker Carlson Tonight
''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' is an American talk show and current affairs program hosted by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on the television network Fox News. The show premiered in November 2016 and includes political commentary, monolog ...
''. She criticized an autistic child for asking Vice President
Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
for an apology when he accidentally brushed the young boy in the face. She later apologized on air.
In December 2018, Bruce appeared on Fox News to criticize the decision of one Scottish coffee shop to call "gingerbread men" "gingerbread people". Bruce said, "obviously, they're men". She characterized the decision by the coffee shop as "the tipping point" in policing free speech.
Bruce is a Fox News contributor. In 2019, she became the host of ''Get Tammy Bruce'', which airs on the Fox Nation streaming service.
Personal life
In a 2006 interview with
C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
, Bruce stated she was
bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
, and that for her, identifying as a
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
was a choice. In an earlier speech, she identified herself as a
pro-choice
Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
lesbian.
At the age of 17, Bruce became lovers with 34-year-old
Brenda Benet
Brenda Benet (born Brenda Ann Nelson; August 14, 1945 – April 7, 1982) was an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the soap operas ''The Young Marrieds'' (1965–1965) and ''Days of Our Lives'' (1979–1982). She was also fea ...
.
[
] Later, Bruce and Benet lived together for nearly a year before Bruce moved out.
[ On April 7, 1982, two years after they had first met and two weeks after Bruce moved out, Benet committed suicide at her home during a lunch date with Bruce.][
]
Books
* ''The New Thought Police: Inside the Left's Assault on Free Speech and Free Minds'' (Prima, 2001)
* ''The Death of Right and Wrong: Exposing the Left's Assault on Our Culture and Values'' (Random House, 2003)
* ''The New American Revolution: Using the Power of the Individual to Save Our Nation from Extremists'' (Morrow, 2005)
Films
Bruce made her film debut in the short feature film ''2081
In contemporary history, the third millennium of the anno Domini or Common Era in the Gregorian calendar is the current millennium spanning the years 2001 to 3000 (21st to 30th centuries). Ongoing futures studies seek to understand what is li ...
'', an independent film based on Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
's short story "Harrison Bergeron
"Harrison Bergeron" is a satirical dystopian science-fiction short story by American writer Kurt Vonnegut, first published in October 1961. Originally published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', the story was republished in ...
." Bruce plays the role of Diana Moon Glampers, the United States Handicapper General in a technologically advanced, totalitarian
Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...
-egalitarian
Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...
state. Bruce also starred in a supporting role in the 2011 documentary '' The Undefeated''.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Tammy
Living people
American columnists
American women columnists
American feminist writers
American political commentators
American political writers
American abortion-rights activists
American conservative talk radio hosts
American women radio presenters
American women's rights activists
American writers of Italian descent
Female critics of feminism
Fox News people
Individualist feminists
Lesbian feminists
American lesbian writers
LGBT broadcasters from the United States
LGBT people from California
LGBT Christians
Tea Party movement activists
University of Southern California alumni
Writers from Los Angeles
The Washington Times people
Activists from California
LGBT conservatism in the United States
21st-century American women
1962 births