Just what do women want? What do women think?
What's the woman's point of view on something like Abortion?
Affirmative Action? War?
Carolyn and Stephanie think these are incredibly inane questions. Unlike many of our liberal feminist "sisters," we here at Rightgrrl believe there are as many female points of view as there are female sizes and shapes. Rightgrrl is a meeting ground for young women who share a few common ideas -- namely pro-life and conservative political thinking -- but who otherwise smash the stereotype of just what makes up a modern woman. The political left has graciously applied their own stereotype to pro-life conservative women, that of doily-placing, bun-haired, lace-collared, phlegmatic, boring prudes. Well, to all you liberals who love to typecast -- get ready for a dose of reality!Just What Is a Rightgrrl?
We knew you were going to ask!
Very little defines a Rightgrrl. She's pro-life and appreciates the system of free market economics. Is a Rightgrrl your typical conservative? Not at all, because there really is no such thing. Rightgrrls might be Republican or Independent, Black, White, or Native American, into aerobics or yoga, inspired by Thatcher or Madonna, not to mention Churchill, Lincoln or Howard Stern.In other words, a Rightgrrl fails to support the limiting stereotypes put upon those of us who simply refuse to buy into the pro-choice liberal feminist ideology. We don't purport to enjoy a forced, implausible feminist bond to other women simply because we all support gender equity. More importantly, we don't believe overactive governmental intervention is healthy for our nation's economy. And most importantly, we don't believe the rights of the unborn should be subordinated to the rights of women, simply because we've been historically denied the vote.
But make no mistake: Rightgrrls vary. That's just how individuals are.
Oh Really?
Yup. Of course, it's possible that a Christian Rightgrrl might not feel comfortable existing under the same pro-life umbrella as an Atheist Rightgrrl, or vice versa. In addressing this potential problem, we must point out that the Rightgrrl website is not championing any religious ideals of "family," simply because we are promoting the pro-life argument. Were we to enter into that arena, we would soon become so narrowly defined that our message would become meaningless -- not because the Christian concept of pro-life and pro-family is a meaningless pursuit, but because the thrust of Rightgrrl is that you CAN be pro-life and a feminist, or pro-life and an atheist. We at Rightgrrl recognize the fact that everyone is an individual, and the label Democrat doesn't necessarily conform every individual patly into its pro-choice definition.
Rightgrrl was created because its founders believe that abortion is wrong for many reasons. Some of those reasons are based in our religious convictions, but other reasons exist in the realms of simple common sense, logic, philosophy, science, jurisprudence. Our nation isn't hearing the full argument against abortion when that argument is only supported with Biblical references. For someone to whom the Bible is not an authority, other arguments against abortion must be made and it's one of Rightgrrl's mission to present those additional arguments. As such, we welcome the input and participation of Buddhist pro-lifers, atheist pro-lifers or goddess-worshiping pro-lifers -- provided they identify with the Rightgrrl persona, which includes supporting conservative ideas like free-market economics -- as well as those women who are considered more "typical" in the pro-life camp. All of us have the potential for increasing and broadening the argument against abortion.
But beyond all that... why would we WANT all pro-lifers to be the same? That would be just plain boring!
Copyright © 1997-2002 Stephanie Herman & Carolyn Gargaro. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced with out specific consent of the authors.