Kellyanne Conway is an interesting figure in the eyes of feminism. Even though she essentially fits all of the qualifications it takes in order or to be considered an idol in the movement, she is not applauded. Rather, she is ignored and condemned.
Conway has an extensive list of accomplishments, from being an Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) Board member, established pollster, mother, and now, a White House Senior Advisor. She holds a powerful position few women have had the honor of reaching. Nonetheless, both she and her accomplishments have been excluded from the narrative of modern feminism.
Conway is a character on her own. From her blueberry farm beginnings to having a single mother, her success is self-made and attributed to her, and her only. Not only did Conway beat the odds, she thrives under pressure and has accomplished not only notable, but incredible things. From being a mother and wife to being a pollster, speaker, presidential campaign manager, and now an advisor to a sitting president. At CPAC, Conway discussed why she doesn’t align herself with the views of modern feminism, citing the movement being ‘pro-abortion’ and ‘anti-man.’ These are two things Conway is expressly not. She is a champion of both the pro-life cause and someone who embraces motherhood as a gift, not a burden. That is one reason why Conway is important to modern feminism.
In a movement that advocates for abortion and demands handouts, placing self-proclaimed socialists on a pedestal while claiming capitalism is the cause of their poor behaviors, Conway is a breath of fresh air, but not without issues of her own. While Lena Dunham speaks at rallies about how she wishes she had had an abortion, Conway is sitting at a desk in the West Wing, looking to improve life for young women through action in the American government. She did also reduce some comments that many women found vulgar and inappropriate to just ‘locker room talk’. Instead of staging a march for women’s equality, she is a true champion for equality, doing things such as running a successful presidential campaign, something only a man has done previously, but she has also lied on television and promoted Ivanka Trump’s line from an official account. Conway is important to modern, third-wave, feminism because she is different, but she is definitely not perfect. She is representing a different type of woman with a different set of interests, being pro-life, pro-woman, pro-family values. She represents the women who sat a listened to her speak at CPAC, the woman who know their worth lies in their mind and not in expression of sexuality, women of virtue, conservative women.
Conservative women have historically been excluded from the narrative of feminism just for voting differently. Conway has paved a way for young conservative women who want to advocate for themselves, while not even calling herself a feminist. It’s time for conservative women to find room for themselves in the movement of feminism, because it’s time for a change and Conway is leading the way.
