English: Organization Logo v.1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Lest you be confused by pessimistic commentary on the subject, I am here to report: There are libertarian women and they are outstanding. On a personal level, I am delighted by this. I cannot think of a more insufferably boring exercise than to have to ask the question over and over, year after year—what about women, where are the women? I have an invincible mother, went to an all-girls high school, and have benefited from the success of women in the time before mine. I do not perceive myself to be held back or hobbled on account of my gender and I’m tired of hearing conversations to that effect. So, I am very glad to be able to assure you: We are here!
Over 1,000 young adults gathered at the 6th Annual International Students for Liberty Conference in Washington, D.C. this weekend. It is an established fact that college students love to talk their way to intellectual discovery, though the kids in this crowd were more smartly dressed than your average twenty-something. Motivated by their own passionate interest in liberty, these students got together to consider past economic and political traditions, current policy, and the future of their movement. Women were well represented.
Of the dozens of breakout sessions that covered every area of interest from Austrian economics to the War on Terror to growing a libertarian presence on campus, two focused on women specifically. The first was about reaching out to women and featured three fantastically articulate and personable students, moderated by the former MTV VJ Kennedy. The second panel called “Girls! Girls! Girls!: Marketing Libertarianism to Women” was not nearly as constructive and actually left some women irritated. The first, however, was very encouraging because it focused less on the ways women are failing to find libertarianism and more on the ways we can make them feel welcome.
The three students on the first panel were Kelly Barber from the University of Florida, Elise Thompson from Michigan State University, and Kara LaRose from York College of Pennsylvania. Their message was one of visibility. When women see other women, they can feel confident about participating. Barber echoed my sentiment when she said that a gender-specific strategy is not necessary to attract women.
What makes libertarian philosophy so brilliant is its clarity and simplicity of principles. Inconsistency and hypocrisy abound in modern politics. Cognitive dissonance is so common as to not even be noticed. Yet, libertarianism, drawing upon the great thinkers of the Age of Reason, is a rational worldview. Nothing about it would naturally repel women, except that women might not have had the same exposure to it as their male counterparts. The best approach then is to celebrate their contributions and let people know that there are women who love liberty.
As LaRose mentioned, we don’t have as many role models. She and her peers are solving that problem by being exemplary women themselves. Thompson made a statement that captures the intellectual curiosity at the heart of libertarianism. “I like to question my own beliefs,” she said. Kennedy remarked that being a libertarian means you can be friends or enemies with anyone you meet. There is always common ground, but you can also argue with anybody.
Left out of the two-party system, libertarians must examine all issues. We don’t have a straight-ticket autopilot button that exempts us from engaging meaningfully with the world and how it’s changing. Women can and should and do have voices in that examination of policy.
If libertarians seem to lack the tendency towards rabid discussions about gender politics, it’s because it feels redundant. As LaRose pointed out, the idea that women are equally free to make their own choices is implicit in being a libertarian. If a woman wants to be a mother, she can be a mother. If she wants to have a career, she can have a career.
This doesn’t mean that women don’t still face obstacles that require them to make difficult choices. However, everyone does. Everything has a cost. A gain in one area of life is a loss in another. It’s simple economics. There’s no need for libertarians to pull their hair out over the absurd notion of “having it all.”
This dearth of gender discussion should be a source of relief for women. Instead of dwelling on their femininity, they can talk about everything else that interests them. The many women at this conference were doing just that and it makes me proud to say: There are libertarian women and they are outstanding.
