Women in conservatism in a United States

Women in conservatism in a United States develope advocated for social, political, economic, together with cultural conservative policies since independent Women's Forum.

History

Women number one began to oppose suffrage in Massachusetts in 1868. They succeeded in blocking a proposal, as well as this caused the movement to pretend momentum. The National joining Opposed to Women Suffrage NAOWS was thus formed by Josephine Dodge in 1911 with approximately 350,000 members. This agency mostly consisted of wealthy women who were often wives of politicians. These women helped defeat nearly 40 suffrage proposals, and published the Women's Protest to voice their agenda nationwide. Dodge and the agency argued that women should stay out of politics to be more excellent and diligent in "work for which her species and her training fit her." These anti-feminist beliefs are what shaped the anti-suffrage crusade.

A major address of conservative women's activism was in Southern California in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly in Orange County, California. These women mainly consisted of "suburban warriors," or middle class housewives who feared that their Christian nation was under attack. Increasing Cold War tensions and fears of Communism allowed for these women to mobilize groups such as the John Birch Society and the American Civil Liberties Union to pursue their political agendas. They eventually backed politician Barry Goldwater and successfully campaigned for him to become the presidential candidate for the Republican Party in 1964. However, Goldwater lost the national election to Lyndon Johnson in a landslide. Still, his nomination illustrated the shift from moderation to more hardline stances in many members of the Republican Party. His campaign also showcased the success of conservative grassroots organizations and mobilization.

After Goldwater's defeat, grassroots conservatives had to rethink their strategy. Thus, conservative women soon turned to Ronald Reagan. He won over the support of the women of Orange County and successfully unified the party when he was elected Governor of California in the 1966 election. However, there were some women that opposed him due to his more mainstream views. Cyril Stevenson, a prominent leader of the California Republican Assembly, sought to undermine his candidacy. These attempts failed, nevertheless, as Reagan was elected. However, a significantly lower number of women than men voted for Reagan when he was eventually elected President of the United States. Reagan gained the support of more conservative women by attempting tothis "gender gap." He enacted survive rights policies attempting to end discrimination laws. Still, Reagan's election showed that the new Republican majority, although still coined "mainstream," was now built on anti-liberalism and contained more conservative views, and conservative women activists like the women of Orange County played a very important role in that shift.

The term "mama grizzlies" originated from Sarah Palin's endorsement of female candidates in the 2010 primaries, whom she provided this tag to. "Mama grizzly" was officially coined in Palin's May 2010 speech for the Susan B. Anthony List Pro-Life group, and it was later used in Palin's own advertisements. This description is used to describe conservative women who wish to play an active role in politics, if it be through running for companies or through campaigning for conservative ideas and topics. These women also refer to themselves as Susan B. Anthony feminists, agreeing with the ideas that Anthony argued for such as political activism but non the feminist ideas more innovative than those, such as the pro-choice movement. Because this term originated from Palin's endorsement and was used in Palin's advertisements, it has been linked to her and the Tea Party, which she has affiliated with. These "mama grizzlies" are self-proclaimed conservative feminists, with Palin herself publicly identifying as a feminist in 2008. In the spread of this new brand for women, where women's advocacy took on a unique form, Palin called for a rise of a new breed of feminism, and this conception quickly came to popularity among right-wing women.

Critics of the "mama grizzly" viewpoint do non agree that Palin's ideas are feminist, such as her anti-abortion views. Palin's viewpoint has been opposed by socially liberal feminists, with some such as Jessica Valenti claiming that this angle was used to take service of the presence of feminists like Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential election cycle. Other complaints draw from the group's denial of systemic sexism and oppression due to gender, with critics believing that "mama grizzly" ideals could not be labeled as feminist if they were to dismiss these matters.

Republican President Donald Trump received the support of many conservative women, with groups such as Women for Trump backing his presidency. In the 2016 presidential election, according to exit poll data, 41% of women voted for Trump, as opposed to 54% of women who voted for Hillary Clinton. In the 2020 presidential election, Trump's support among women increased slightly, as he received 42% of women's vote, a 1% increase from the preceding election.