Yes All Women, Even the Conservatives

Even when I was a liberal, I wasn’t a feminist. Even then, in all my delusion, I knew that the philosophies embraced by the movement were riddled with hypocrisy and infantilism. I knew that 2+2 wasn’t misogyny, I knew that men had issues, I knew that being a woman didn’t make me a victim. But I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers, so I remained silent on the blatant absurdity that had become the feminist movement.

As a conservative, black 21 year old woman living and attending college in Boston, MA, you really have no choice but to ruffle feathers. When I was liberal, I was loud and proud about a bunch of preposterous concepts and juvenile ideas, but as a conservative, that was literally always right (yes, pun intended), I was initially terrified of vocalizing my beliefs. But I realized that I had a choice to make. I could either sit in silence, slowly going insane listening to my peers nonsensically ramble on about things that don’t exist/don’t matter, or I could grow a pair, and speak my mind. It took me a while, but my intellectual balls finally dropped.

As a conservative period, you’re going to be attacked. If you aren’t the rich old white man that liberals have caricatured, they ironically get their nastiest, as they feel they’re entitled to your votes and your allegiance.

Democrats, I know that historically, you’re the party that fought tooth and nail to keep slavery, but I’m gonna need you to let it go. You don’t own the “oppressed” and you’re owed nothing from them.

Feminists, especially, have a tendency to mimic the behavior of pimps when they encounter conservative women, or really any women that don’t adhere to their doctrine. Before you tell me that those aren’t real feminists, consider I’ve been told time after time by hysterical 15 year olds that feminism is “literally just the belief that men and women are equal,” and that if you’re going by that definition, you don’t get to disqualify anyone that believes men and women are equal. And before you tell me that those are just the radicals, come to terms with the fact that mainstream feminism- the feminism used by pop sensations like Beyoncé, Taylor swift, and Nicki Minaj (to further their careers, in my opinion), the feminism getting hundreds of thousands of notes on tumblr, the feminism being cornily written into subpar tv shows- is far from moderate.

Let’s take things step by step. Obviously, every sociopath is different, but I’ve noticed a pattern. First, they try to convert you with links to Salon articles and Buzzfeed infographics. When that doesn’t work, they try to guilt/bully you into obedience, insisting that you’d have no rights if it weren’t for feminism. Because Lena Dunham totally got you your right to vote. If conservatives/non feminists aren’t phased by outdated, poorly conducted studies or Tina Fey quotes, they roll up their sleeves and pull up thesaurus.com as they attempt to hurt your feelings in a witty, tumblr-esque way.

Now, if anyone has a backbone, it’s me. I have my moments of weakness, but I think highly of myself, and nobody that’s #ready4hillary is going to change that. But not everyone is like me. And if liberals and feminists are going to claim to give a damn about empowering women or listening to what women have to say, it can’t stop at women they don’t agree with. I mean, what happened to intersectionality and inclusivity?

If you cultivate an environment that makes women at best hesitant, and at worst petrified, to express their opinions, or enable those that do, consider the disparity between what you preach and your actions. How can you belittle women while claiming to uplift them at the same time? You can’t, and you need to either correct your behavior or come to terms with the fact that you’re a fraud.