“To me, a feminist is a woman who chooses her own life,” said presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina. “The life she chooses could be to have five children and stay home and home school them.”
In June, Fiorina wrote a powerful article called, “Redefining Feminism: The state of women in America.” Fiorina charted her career progress and addressed the deterioration of feminism over the years.
Feminism began as a rallying cry to empower women—to vote, to get an education, to enter the workplace. But over the years, feminism has devolved into a left-leaning political ideology where women are pitted against men and used as a political weapon to win elections.Being empowered means having a voice. But ideological feminism shuts down conversation—on college campuses and in the media. If you are a man—or a woman—who doesn’t believe the litanies of the left, then you are “waging a war on women” or you are a “threat to women’s health” or you are variously described as “window dressing” —Joni Ernst—or offensive as a candidate—Carly Fiorina.The progressive view of feminism is not about women. It is about ideology. And their policies are not working for women.The economic policies of this administration have been devastating: 3 million women have fallen into poverty in the last 6 years. 1 million fewer women are working under President Obama. In California—a state that has been governed by liberal policies for a decade—in California, they have the highest poverty rates in the nation with over 3 million women living below the poverty line.Today, only 23 percent of women identify with the term feminist. Liberal ideas aren’t the answer. Their version of feminism isn’t working. It is time for a new definition.Here’s what I told that little boy: A feminist is a woman who lives the life she chooses. We will have arrived when every woman can decide for herself how to best find and use her God-given gifts. A woman may choose to have five children and home-school them. She may choose to become a CEO…or run for President.
One would think the first woman CEO of a fortune 50 company, one who is strong and empowered would draw respect from the modern feminist community, Tucker Carlson observed. One would think…
And this is where the likes of Salon and others prove Fiorina right (see also: “The progressive view of feminism is not about women. It is about ideology.”). Progressive’s only basis for disagreeing with her is that Fiorina’s political beliefs are not congruent with their own.
How curious that Fiorina, who has remained staunchly anti-choice despite previously running for Senate in California, would acknowledge the necessity of making “all of the information and resources” available to women when it comes to reproductive healthcare decisions. How curious too that she would criticize opposition to Republicans’ over-the-counter birth control plan, which is merely another scheme to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and once again saddle women with the burden of paying for basic healthcare.What’s scariest about Fiorina’s essay is not that it’s wrong, but that it’s delusional: She displays an understanding of the key issues women face, then asserts that the government should do nothing about any of it. Ultimately, what Fiorina displays is the sort of moral bankruptcy that seems to be rampant among conservatives, especially when it comes to women’s lives. She isn’t promoting a redefinition of feminism, as she suggests. Fiorina is just peddling the same old right-wing bullshit and calling it by a different name. But she should know, perhaps better than anyone, that women won’t buy it.
Heaven forbid women care about something other than birth control! But Fiorina is the delusional one…
Fiorina on the national stage engaging in rational discourse about the current state of American feminism is a welcome departure from the insanity typically associated with the “f” word. She’s a huge asset for the cause of conservatism and one of the best national advocates for true gender equality.
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