Huffington Post recently published an article titled, “15 Trailblazers On What History Books Will Say About Women’s Activism In 2018,” which featured prominent women who are leaders in their fields and movements. Awesome, right?
Wrong.
Not a single conservative woman was included, despite the fact that many leaders in the conservative movement and the Republican party are strong women. For decades, left-leaning media has propagated the false narrative that the left is the champion for women, while some on the left claim conservative women are traitors to their sex for holding conservative principles. Assuming that a woman must believe in certain values because of her sex is, in fact, sexist.
{mosads}This may come as a shock to the Huffington Post, but the left does not have a monopoly on women’s issues. According to the Pew Research Center, 38 percent of women identify as Republican or lean Republican and 38 percent of women say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. Quinnipiac University’s January 2017 poll even found that 42 percent of women would support a ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Despite this, the so-called Women’s March and feminist movement systematically condemn and exclude women who identify as pro-life or Republican.
The Huffington Post article is not the first time conservative women have been left out. In November 2017, Glamour also failed to feature a single conservative woman in their Women of the Year awards. To no surprise, they gave awards to prominent leftists such as Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), comedian Samantha Bee, and the organizers of the Women’s March. Another list that excluded conservative and Republican women is Cosmopolitan’s “7 Women Who Could Be Our First Female President,” featuring a whopping total of 0 female conservatives.
If the left was truly feminist; if they wanted to truly grant women their own volition and have more female leaders in society, they would support women aiming for leadership positions in all fields and movements. Additionally, they would praise women who are already leaders and making a change. Why? Because this type of support would acknowledge sex, but separate sex from the principles and progress women make in this country every single day. That is feminism.
Who are the women who should be included on these lists?
The Huffington Post, and others, declined to include U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. She is unquestionably one of the superstars of the Trump administration and is responsible for representing U.S. interests on a global scale, while also pushing for women’s rights and human rights around the world.
These lists should have included Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Trump administration’s White House press secretary. She is the first mom to hold the job of press secretary and raises her children while the nefarious news media and so-called feminists like Chelsea Handler berate her publicly. Nonetheless, she works hard to keep the public informed, and navigates the communication struggles within this administration.
And where is Dana Loesch? The spokeswoman for the NRA, responsible for representing more than 5 million everyday Americans across the country. Despite being called slurs and obscenities for the NRA, she tweets “God bless” and continues to lead in the fight to strengthen our background check system, while also preserving the Second Amendment.
These lists should have included Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, who fights for the rights of the unborn while leading an organization of 1,200 student pro-life organizations.
As a young woman, conservative activist, and entrepreneur who leads my own publication, Lone Conservative, with over 150+ student contributors, these media honors do not include women who inspired me. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Cecile Richards do not represent me. These women only represent a portion of women, despite their claim to fight for women’s issues. Condoleezza Rice, Carly Fiorina, and Margaret Thatcher emboldened me to stand up for what I believe in. These women went above and beyond in their careers to advocate for issues they believe betters society in all aspects. As Carly Fiorina famously says: “All issues are women’s issues.”
When we are referring to women, we must refer to all women. When lists of prominent women are created, we must not forget the trailblazing conservative women who unapologetically fight for their beliefs and values. To the left’s dismay, women will continue to be drivers of the conservative movement; we can not, should not, and will not be ignored.
Kassy Dillon is a senior at Mount Holyoke College studying International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies. She is the MHC College Republican president and she is also the founder of LoneConservative.com. She can be found on Twitter at @KassyDillon.