Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference this morning, Kellyanne Conway declared that she is not a classic feminist:
[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Did you marry the man of your choice or did your father trade you along with a goat and some land for family advantage?[/pullquote]
It’s difficult for me to call myself a feminist in a classic sense because it seems to be very anti-male, and it certainly is very pro-abortion, and I’m neither anti-male or pro-abortion,” Conway said during a conversation onstage with conservative commentator Mercedes Schlapp. “So, there’s an individual feminism, if you will, that you make your own choices. … I look at myself as a product of my choices, not a victim of my circumstances.
Well, Kellyanne, I’m a feminist in the classic sense and I know that you are too.
How do I know that you are a feminist? It’s pretty easy.
Feminism has nothing to do with hating men and everything to do with women being intellectually, economically and morally equivalent to men.
- You vote. You are exercising one of the first rights brought to you by feminists.
- You probably have your own bank account, credit card or mortgage. Those economic rights are brought to you by feminism.
- Did you marry the man or your choice or did your father trade you along with a goat and some land in exchange for greater family prestige or advantage? If you chose, you are a feminist.
- Do you use birth control? Choosing to control your own fertility makes you a feminist.
- You have a professional job and political power. You can thank feminism.
I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. Unless you are prepared to give up all those rights, you are a classic feminist whether you admit it to yourself or not.
Lots of men are feminists, too (yet another reason why classic feminism has nothing to do with hating men). For men who are wondering if they are classic feminists, ask yourself:
- Do you own your wife? No, you’re a feminist.
- Do you spend the money that your wife earns? You’re benefiting from feminism.
- Did you marry the woman (or man) of your choice, or did you pay a bride price or receive a dowry for her? If you chose, you’re a feminist.
- Have you committed any honor killings lately? No, that’s because feminists have successfully broken the link between women’s sexual purity and men’s honor.
Kellyanne Conway, you can protest all you want that you are a aren’t a classic feminist but unless you are immured in your home, unable to go out without the escort of a male relative, and swathed in a burqa when you do leave your home, you are a feminist.
A woman’s right to control her own body follows inevitably from classic feminism, but people can differ as to whether that encompasses abortion. Believing in the right to choose pregnancy termination is not a requirement of feminism.
Simply put, Kellyanne, if you believe that women are morally vested with the same legal, political and economic rights as men, and you clearly do, you are a classic feminist and most Republican women are classic feminists, too. I don’t care what call yourselves or how you try to fool yourselves and others with your demurrals. I’ve seen how you behave and you behave like classic feminists … just like me.
