A NERVOUS student stands amid a sea of expectant faces in Washington D.C. "How can women be active in conservative politics, yet still be loving wives and mothers?" Anne Coulter asks. "Just look at the Democrats' most prominent woman: John Kerry," Coulter quips. While she may have drawn the easy laugh, Coulter fundamentally dodged the question belying one of the biggest paradoxes within the conservative movement: How can a woman truly be a committed conservative activist while still fulfilling the traditional gender role expected of her?
This past weekend, right-wing politicos from campuses across the nation flocked to Washington to participate in the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. There they watchedas big names such as Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader, Ann Coulter and Newt Gingrich regaled them with conservative talking points and wit. But despite the homogeneity on issues such as abortion and tort reform, the dual place women hold in conservatism hung unspoken throughout the weekend. Were GOP women who spent countless hours organizing events, campaigning and giving up class time to come to a political conference really expected to give it all up and be relegated to the home? The striking number of female student activists both attending and participating in the conference hinted at a growing role for women in the Republican Party; this also indicates a seeming modernization of traditional gender roles within the conservative movement.
Jo Jensen of Mt. Holyoke College spoke of the importance of conservative women's groups on college campuses to bring back feminism that had been "hijacked by the liberals." She harped on the importance of finding conservative role models and cited Laura Bush and Condoleezza Rice as examples. But isn't Rice a high-powered academic who never had time for a family?
Karin Agness, founder of the Network of Enlightened Women (NEW), a conservative women's group on Grounds, makes the point that activism and femininity are not mutually exclusive. She explains how women "contribute to society differently." While Agness holds nothing against a successful careerist such as Rice, she also espouses the value of being a stay-at-home-mom. Women like Rice and the first lady may get the headlines, but Agness believes that a housewife who prioritizes her family is equally important.
The trouble with this is that family-oriented women's views often are not reflected in policymaking decisions. Women who feel raising their children and having a respectable household is the epitome of virtue aren't going to be leading the Republican ticket in the 2006 congressional elections -- men or women who do not subscribe to this brand of social conservatism will be.
This sentiment seems to lie at the heart of women's groups such as NEW. The faculty advisor to NEW, PoliticsProf. Steven Rhoads, author of "Taking Sex Differences Seriously," argues that conservative women see their entire community as their "extended family." This leads them to become very active in community organizations and local groups such as the P.T.A. instead of running for elected office. NEW becomes an outlet for the resolution of the inherent conflict of female conservative activism. In the past year they have brought Christina Hoff Sommers, a feminist theorist from the American Enterprise Institute, to speak to students and they have organized conservative rallies, such as one to remember the day the Berlin Wall fell.
Such activities begin to bridge the gap for Republican girls between being destined to be a "soccer mom" and working 80 hours a week. Republicans cannot afford to ignore such outlets. In fact, The Washington Times, a conservative newspaper, mentioned NEW's Berlin Wall demonstration, albeit only in one paragraph. The increased visibility of conservative female activists signifies greater acceptance of female participation in the policymaking process but not yet a move toward widespread acceptance of women heading a national and statewide electoral tickets.
Overall, the conservative movement seems to recognize its dilemma of the dual roles women have as both important activists and integral parts of the traditional family. In a nation that holds up careerists -- not housewives -- as its pinnacle of achievement it is hard to tell whether groups like NEW have a future. Stressing the value of the community could represent a movement taking hold, or it could simply be a group of conservative activists equivocating between definitions of feminism.
Josh Levy is a Cavalier Daily Viewpoint Writer.
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