Is There a Conservative Feminism? An Empirical Account

Abstract

The question of conservative feminism in the United States did not really arise before the 2008 elections; most politically active conservative women leaders did not refer to themselves as feminists. Sarah Palin's vice presidential bid, however, prompted a shift. On a number of well-publicized occasions, Palin called herself a feminist, generating considerable discussion over whether conservative feminism is now a political movement. Using data from in-depth interviews with conservative women leaders, this article asks whether conservative women in the United States identify as feminists. Findings indicate that on the whole they do not, but conservative women are important gender-conscious political actors whose efforts compel questions about ideology and women's activism. Implications for understanding feminist and conservative movement politics more broadly are also explored.

Disentangling Antifeminist Paradoxes: Alternative Organizing in Antifeminist Online Spaces

“…Rather, RPW treats gender as an assumed category of difference, one grounded in biology and nature. Past research suggests that conservative women may act as gender-conscious political actors who organize and speak for women while simultaneously shunning feminism (Celis & Childs, 2012; Schreiber, 2012, 2018). Politically conservative women, like those who align themselves with RPW, emphasize their gender identity by drawing on traditional ideological values of femininity as a way to argue against, or challenge, modern feminist activism (Schreiber, 2018).…”

“…Finally, we offer feminist organizational communication researchers a unique consideration on the act of studying antifeminist groups and their d/Discourses on- and offline. Schreiber (2018) calls upon researchers to consider the possibility of reframing conservative activists’ adoption and discussion of women’s issues in “feminist positive frames” (p. 76). Our findings suggest that the women of RPW are enacting feminist goals throughout their interactions with one another in r/RedPillWomen.…”

“…Postfeminism borrows feminist language of “choice” and “empowerment” yet is grounded in traditional understandings of gendered and raced boundaries (Butler, 2013). Offline, postfeminism is often closely associated with women’s political organizing around conservative politics and movements (Schreiber, 2018). Although we view RPW as a feminist space, members adopt and organize through postfeminist logics.…”

Using a Feminist Paradigm (Intersectionality) to Study Conservative Women: The Case of Pro-life Activists in Italy

“…The turn to agency, however, is problematic in several respects. First, these feminist ethnographers, even if they wanted to dispel the stereotype that conservative women are simply passive victims of patriarchy, end up imposing a political identity (feminism) on these women who do not claim it for themselves, or even sharply refuse to do so (Schreiber 2018). Is this not a paternalistic attitude?…”

Analysing the “what” and “when” of women’s substantive representation: the role of right-wing populist party ideology

“…Several scholars have pointed out that conservative women's participation in electoral politics is increasing, whether as party members, candidates, representatives, or advocates for women's concerns (O'Brien 2018;Celis and Childs 2018;Shames, Och, and Cooperman 2020). Conservative female representatives claim to represent conservative women better than feminists do (Kretschmer and Meyer 2013;Schreiber 2018). With conservative representatives in parliaments making representative claims, questions about the substantive representation of women must be addressed because they challenge the existing feminist understanding of it (Celis and Childs 2018).…”