Conservative women are betraying the female species for “patriarchal head-pats,” according to feminist scribbler and alleged sisterhood-card-carrier Jessica Valenti, writing in Marie Claire last week.
Women who hold conservative beliefs are either cringing victims of the patriarchy or cynical climbers willing to throw their sisters under the bus in exchange for cash, Valenti continues, ignoring the irony of defending the mythical sisterhood in a column where the central point involves throwing women she disagrees with under the bus.
Why is the Left, and the feminist industry in particular, so threatened by conservative women that they need to make up elaborate stories to explain our existence?
Well, for one, their ideology isn’t very popular among the women whose votes they feel so entitled to. Only one in three women identify as feminist, which makes Valenti’s feminism only slightly more popular than Congress and herpes.
Advocates like to pretend the issue is educational, trotting out the tired trope about feminism being the belief in equality between men and women. The reality is, of course, that few women identify as feminist today because they’ve wised up to the bait-and-switch the Left has pulled by substituting the Democratic Party’s radical platform for “women’s rights.”
Women’s magazines such as Marie Claire purport to “serve smart women the content they want, 24/7.” Increasingly, women, like everyone else, are sick of hearing sisterhood bromides published alongside condescending and insulting pieces like Valenti’s.
In a prophetic 2012 column, law professor Glenn Reynolds (often known by his blogging handle Instapundit) called on Republican billionaires to forget about dumping money into the Republican Party and Conservative Inc., and buy women’s magazines instead.
There are signs that now is the time for conservatives to finally make their cultural voice heard. Americans are sick of the Left relentlessly politicizing every aspect of their lives, from sports to fashion magazines. It’s not a coincidence that the NFL is flailing after it failed to stop players from kneeling for the national anthem or that Teen Vogue has pulled back from publishing their print edition after going full “woke.” (Never go full woke.)
We, the silent majority, have cultural muscle to flex, if we choose to use it.
But boycotts are not enough. The Right must break the Left’s monopoly in cultural matters. We need to publish our own magazines, make our own films, and cultivate our own educational programs. In doing so, we should learn from the overreaching mistakes of the Left: Strive for good content first, and the political values — decency, patriotism, and individualism — will show subtly through. Exciting stories, haute fashion, and well-executed educational materials will appeal not just to those on the Right, but to the wide swath of Americans who may be open to a different message.
That means no more movies with endless shots of trains, Ayn Rand fans.
Most importantly, conservatives must stop treating subjects like pop culture, fashion, and sports commentary as though they have nothing to do with the values that will, one way or another, end up defining the values of our country.
As the Republican Party continues to rejoice in temporary political dominance while ignoring the milieu voters marinate in, it’s no small wonder many conservatives feel that the Left’s cultural victories, from attacking American history to transgender bathroom “rights,” continue at warp speed no matter who is in office.
As the late, great Andrew Breitbart is frequently quoted saying, “Politics is still downstream from culture.”
Conservatives can try, as we have unsuccessfully for at least half a century, to dam the river downstream and cordon off politics from the relentless overflow of left-wing cultural revolutions. Or we can stop waiting for the next battle to be lost, head upstream, and tackle the Left head-on at the real source of their power: media, education, entertainment, and yes, Marie Claire.
Inez Feltscher Stepman (@InezFeltscher) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is an education policy analyst in Washington, D.C.
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