Feminism Is Not An Oxymoron Hannah Sternberg Summary

Summary and Response Paper

As defined by Hannah Sternberg in her article Conservative Feminism is Not an Oxymoron, “feminism is ‘the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.’” While this is the dictionary definition, Sternberg believes that liberals have transformed the meaning of the word to promote their own agenda and have unjustly deviated from true feminism. She is sick of being ridiculed for being a female conservative, and she firmly believes conservatives should have as much claim to feminism as liberals do. Although I can understand where Sternberg’s resentment is coming from, I think that she focuses more on attacking liberals rather than discussing how being a female conservative “is not an oxymoron”,

therefore failing to understand the true meaning of feminism. It is about fighting for the right to do what we want with our bodies and lives, it is about being seen as more than just “girls”, and it is about making our own choices and having our voices be heard.
In our society today, it is clear that feminism is a term most associated with the left wing, but it is not a term that is owned by them, in the same way that women are not owned by men. There are many things that entail being a feminist, one of them being fighting women having the right to choose what they do with their bodies, especially on issues like abortion. In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Roe v. Wade that, “a woman’s right to an abortion fell within the right to privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment,” declaring abortion a private matter for women. A person them self can choose to be pro-life, but they should not be able to make that decision for everyone else. Sternberg gives into the notion that feminism specifically supports a liberal agenda and believes, “It assumes that women lack the intellectual capacity to choose their own views,” when in fact feminism does the exact opposite of this. A fundamental of feminism is for women to be able to have their own views, which includes doing what they want with their bodies.
Instead of embracing what the word has come to be known as, Sternberg harbors angst against it, and tears down any agenda associated with feminism. Fighting for men and women to have equal rights is not a bad thing, which Sternberg blatantly fails to see. She argues that, “conservatives don’t have to relinquish the banner of feminism to liberal ideology,” but she does not provide examples for how conservatives can be advocates for women’s rights. Even though Sternberg is only using feminism to bash liberals, she still has a right to feel criticized and upset about how she is being treated as a woman. Women are constantly told what their opinions should be and how to act by society, especially in their childhood. People do not realize how being criticized as a young girl heavily effects their self-esteem. In 2014, Always began their LikeAGirl campaign where they asked young and teenage boys and girls to act out different things “like a girl”. Everyone except for the young girls would act out things like running, fighting, or playing sports as what they thought a “girl” would do. For example, they would all prance around and worry about their hair while they were running, but the younger girls would try and run as fast as they could. Always was trying to show at what point does “like a girl” become an insult. This campaign is trying to break the barrier around the limitations of what it means to be a girl, which is another goal for feminists.
In our country, we are fortunate to have the freedom of speech and ability to do what we want, but it is also easy to get lost in society’s standards and demands.

There are extremists that skew the true meaning of a movement all the time, but they should not be the ones who define what it is. It is not fair to make generalizations about a group, like assuming all feminists are liberals. All feminists are human beings, and they just want the equality and ability to make choices like all human beings deserve. Sternberg argues against the need for feminism by saying, “What could be more empowering that the simple declaration that all people, women and men, are entitled to the respect of their basic human dignity?”, but the problem with that thought is the Declaration of Independence declared that all MEN were created equal. When this document was written, the only people that were considered equal were wealthy, white, males. African Americans and women were excluded, and while that has vastly changed today, it does not take away from the fact that women were not always seen as equal, and they still are not to everyone. Just like African Americans today still struggle with racism, women still struggle with sexism, and anyone who tries to deny it is denying the

truth.
Being a feminist and a conservative are not mutually exclusive, because feminism is not just about liberal ideology. It is about promoting female power and strength, and encouraging women to make their own choices. Instead of attacking each other for what our political beliefs are, we should focus on what the main point of issues is. Women and men have not been, and are not treated equal. Generations of history have reinforced that fact, but through feminism that can be changed. Throughout her article, it is evident that Sternberg does no know what the true meaning of feminism is, and many other people in America do not either. People need to realize that feminism is not about pushing liberal agenda, but it is a movement to push for female’s right to make choices that are their own.

Works Cited
Always. Always #LikeAGirl. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs. Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.
Roe v. Wade." Oyez, 28 Jan. 2018, www.oyez.org/cases/1971/70-18.