Elle Magazine Labels Female Conservatives 'Problematic Women'

Brittany M. Hughes | June 27, 2017
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Women

Hat-tip to Kelsey Harkness with the Federalist for pointing this one out. After all, if I’m going to be insulted, I might as well know about it.

Writing for Elle Magazine, a self-styled feminist named Sady Doyle has pointedly labeled female conservatives “problematic women” who deserve no understanding, and should be openly mocked – and even subjected to personal insults and harassment – because they dared to diverge from the feminist line.

In her lengthy article, chock full of vitriol but sadly lacking in consistency, Doyle targets Megyn Kelly, Kellyann Conway and Melania and Ivanka Trump, along with Brexit supporter and British Member of Parliament Theresa May, as the “problematic women” in question.

To Doyle, Kelly is a right-wing talking head who should be publicly shamed because she “explicitly rejected feminism.” Kellyann Conway deserved to be attacked for her looks and body type because she hasn’t done enough to support women.

Of course, Melania Trump – who actually hasn’t done much of anything to land herself in such a position, as far as I can tell – is “problematic” simply because she’s married to Donald Trump.

According to Doyle, these female conservatives (who are all wildly successful and, lest we forget, are also apparently racist) deserve to be mocked, shamed and ostracized for their “continued oppression of women,” despite their being women, themselves. Here’s Doyle's take on the matter:

We should not weep for Theresa May or any other conservative woman whose policies contribute to the continued oppression of women and minorities. Even the most moon-eyed believer in feminist sisterhood must realize it's all got to stop somewhere. Any harm done to Kellyanne Conway by calling her "Skeletor" is vastly outweighed by the harm Conway has done, and intends to do, to the American people. And by the way, it's no coincidence that all of these women are white—they've been given leeway to screw up and court public disapproval in ways that a woman of color would never be afforded.

However, it appears that Doyle and her feminist compatriots have landed themselves in a bit of a pickle, and must now tackle the question, “How do we criticize problematic women” who’ve strayed so far from the Great Vaginal Path? According to Doyle's article, this means making sure that for every right-wing woman you hate, you also hate a right-wing man, just to balance the scales a bit. It’s also perfectly acceptable to body-shame a woman, provided her politics suck.

The irony of a self-hailed “feminist” labeling women across the political aisle “problematic women” who deserve public shaming was not lost on me. By not groveling before the modern liberal shrine, or accepting the ridiculous notion that in order to be a strong woman one must also be a left-wing hack who perfectly toes the progressive line, these non-conforming ladies have committed more than enough sins to get themselves booted post-haste from the Women’s Rights Club.

Because they think differently. Because they think for themselves. Because they voted a certain way, or dared to question the feminist mantra, or because they reached different political conclusions based on their own independent ability to reason.

Because they dared to deviate, even just a little bit, from the lock-step parade of present-day “feminism,” they’re problematic women, and labeled as such by a representative of the very movement that supposedly praises women for pushing against the greater social grain.

Do you think they notice, these “feminists”? Do you think the irony of hailing female strength and individuality, while at the same time lambasting any woman who doesn’t march to the leftist drumbeat, ever registers? Can a hypocrisy this obvious truly go so unnoticed by so many?

Apparently, it can. And it does.

So I guess I’ll just be “problematic,” too. Funny – it feels an awful lot like freedom.

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