Can you be a conservative feminist? Experts and activists weigh in

USA TODAY

Conway, alongside Ivanka Trump, delivers remarks in a listening session for military spouses in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Aug. 2, 2017.

In the words of author bell hooks, "feminism is for everybody." Feminism is broadly defined as the economic, social and political equality between the sexes, and there are many kinds — black feminism, Chicana feminism, intersectional feminism, radical feminism.

But what about conservative feminism?

At the start of Women's History Month, Ivanka Trump tweeted that "we honor women's legacy of achievements," to which others on Twitter replied, "who do you mean by 'we'?" and "achievements that your father is working to strip away."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has also come under fire. When she told reporters that President Trump's tweet about Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was not sexist, many on social media — as well as mainstream media, including MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski — disagreed.

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee defended his daughter, saying she "represents women" and "deserves better from other women." Conservative commentators have called out "Hollywood feminists," including Cher and Chelsea Handler, for mocking Sanders' appearance.

These moments highlight the tension between conservative women and the mainstream feminist movement.

While many conservative women don't identify as feminists, some advocate for their own version of feminism that they say better aligns with their beliefs — but what does conservative feminism look like?

Abortion remains a sticking point

The feminist movement historically has had an identifiable list of policy goals — including access to legal abortion.

In her introduction to feminist theory, hooks, a leading feminist author and activist, wrote that a woman could personally choose to never have an abortion while still supporting others' right to choose, but "she cannot be anti-abortion and an advocate of feminism."

However, there are women who identify as "pro-life feminists." Even Hillary Clinton said she believes people can "absolutely" be pro-life and still be feminists.

Activist Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, founder of the pro-life group New Wave Feminists, said it's a shame that the mainstream women's movement hasn't welcomed them, but she doesn't need "permission" to call herself a feminist.

"I don't wait to be invited to parties," she said. "I created this group because I saw something lacking in the feminist movement which constantly had me compromising."

Herndon-De La Rosa found herself in the spotlight when her group was removed as an official partner of the 2017 Women's March because of its stance on abortion.

She said she's regularly approached by pro-life women who say they didn't know they were "allowed" to call themselves feminists and "now they're getting thrown into all these other issues, like rape culture."

What does conservative feminism mean?

Outside of abortion, much of the rhetoric used by conservative feminists focuses on "choice," or allowing women to support whatever policies they choose, regardless of whether or not they are "feminist."

At last year's Conservative Political Action Conference, Kellyanne Conway, the first woman to run a successful presidential campaign, said she doesn't consider herself a feminist "in the classic sense" because she said the movement is considered anti-male and pro-abortion.

However, she continued, “there's an individual feminism, if you will, that you make your own choices ... that's really to me what conservative feminism, if you will, is all about."

Similarly, Karin Agness Lips, founder of the Network of Enlightened Women, a national organization for conservative university women, said she also doesn't consider herself a modern feminist because the movement lacks clarity and is too extreme.

Instead, she identifies as an "opportunity feminist." She says this version of feminism prioritizes maximizing opportunities and choices for women, rather than seeing them as victims "that need every interaction regulated."

Opportunity feminism prioritizes equality of opportunity over equality of outcome, meaning that so long as women have the same opportunities as men in education, the workplace and politics, it doesn’t matter if they are represented in equal numbers.

"I'm hoping that that's going to be a way for conservative women to reclaim the feminist title," said Agness Lips. "The left claims they are the women's empowerment movement and they're not. And our policies are actually better for women."

At odds

Instead of policing who gets to use the term, feminists should focus on analyzing the policies put forth by those who claim to be feminists, said UCLA gender studies professor Juliet Williams.

"I think it's incredibly important for feminists to call out the contradictions," Williams said. "If you're pitching a kind of feminism that works for you and people in your community, but is really exclusive or demeaning to people outside that community, how can that really claim to be a feminism?"

Williams said the heart of intersectional feminism is radical inclusivity. Many feminist policy goals are tied to the idea of intersectionality, or the understanding of how women's overlapping identities — including race, class, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation — impact the way they experience oppression and discrimination.

"Conservative feminists" simply don't advocate for the same structural and institutional changes that feminists historically have, said Ronnee Schreiber author of the book Righting Feminism: Conservative Women and American Politics.

"For them, there's a very narrow view of what feminism is and also a very ahistorical view," said Schreiber, department chair of political science at San Diego State University. "Feminism isn't just about a personal identification. It's a political and historical movement."

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