OPINION PIECE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or position of Her Campus Agnes Scott.
Can a conservative be feminist? Many would call that a loaded question. To answer it we have to define both of those words, and they’re not necessarily easy words to define. According to Oxford Dictionaries:
Oxford also says that “traditional” means “existing in or as part of a tradition; long-established….[habitual]….adhering to tradition, or to a particular tradition.” These all seem very vague and could be interpreted in many different ways.
Regardless of all of these definitions, feminism and conservatism have different forms and people that identify as them. What’s important to remember is that the loudest group doesn’t represent the whole group, the loudest groups can sometimes be harmful to what many would call the “real” group, and combining feminism and conservatism doesn’t have to be an oxymoron.
Here are some reasons why:
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A common ideology of being feminist means to support your fellow woman and encourage her to make her own decisions to make herself happy. That means allowing her to think freely and have whatever diverging opinions from the norm that she wants. If a woman believes her viewpoint is protecting women, just as conservative feminists do, that in itself is the core of feminism so who’s to deny her that opinion?
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To many, conservatism means conserving the happiness and wholeness of the home and encouraging happy, healthy relationships between parents, children, and partners. That idea sounds pleasant to most ears, I would assume, conservative or not. There doesn’t seem to be a reason a feminist would be against this.
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Conservative feminism can hold “classical” or “modern” feminism close to them but go about seeking solutions to the identified problems differently than other feminists may.
There’s a reason behind every viewpoint. You don’t have to agree, just be willing to listen and try to understand. But don’t take the word of someone who isn’t conservative. Take it from conservative feminists themselves (who will remain anonymous):
“For me, being a conservative feminist means liberation with a moral compass. I really think about issues of oppression of women, and the LGBT community, and I advocate for gender equality. For me, being a feminist doesn’t involve abortions, free tampons, and the like. Feminism is pinpointing the depraved oppression of women and LGBT community and discussing it and problematizing it. Instead of being upset that our tampons are not free, we should be more upset over Stephen Colbert’s homophobic and misogynistic comment regarding President Trump and Putin.”
“As a conservative, I do not feel like the modern day feminist movement describes my beliefs but I am an egalitarian. Equality between all people is a basic human right and morally right. I do not believe that current feminism is always beneficial, but feminism has achieved great things in the past, such as the suffragette movement. I believe had I been fighting for basic rights, I would identify as a feminist rather than an egalitarian.”
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