Reflecting on my childhood, I have never had a conventional personality. I was never into having Tamagotchis (stupid electronic “pets” that every second grade girl owned), I never played soccer like the stereotypical New England child, I didn’t like chocolate, hot dogs, or ballerinas, and I didn’t have a favorite Disney princess. (Which, for the record, is a crime in suburbia.) So I guess it’s not a wonder that when high school rolled around and my interests revolved around trucks, camouflage, and crass humor I didn’t exactly fit the mold of a typical small-town Connecticut girl. Which leads me to my present life, where I attend the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and lean conservatively in my political views, defying the usual “Yankee” persona associated with [women and] people from my neck of the woods.
With that being said, people are usually taken aback that I can be a woman and voluntarily conservative (insanity, right?), and I am frequently questioned on my mental stability accompanied by looks of concern and confusion. These interactions have not only proven to be entertaining for the general public, but for myself as well, as I have compiled a list of my favorite quotes that people typically ask or state when trying to sort through this social “confusion.”
1. “Do you even have a soul?”
No.
2. “So you don’t want to be paid the same wages as men?”
First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone, ever, who voluntarily would enjoy doing the same job as someone else and simply not getting paid the same wage “just for the hell of it,” so I’ll just let this one go.
3. "You do realize that Trump hates women, right?"
...and when did I state that I am a Trump groupie?
To be fair, Trump gives the corn a run for his money here. Just saying.
4. "Do you believe in the separation of church and state?"
I’m sorry, I don’t understand where the confusion in this question lies. Yes? It’s 2016? Our country has rules that clearly define that the church doesn’t dictate common law and I support that?
5. "So do you like, hate gay people?"
Honestly, I hate you more for asking me such an incredibly stupid question. I have no hatred toward the gay community. You won’t catch me at a gay pride parade, but apparently the decency to be a considerate human being and not hate someone based on sexuality is something people are still confused about.
6. "How can you not want free college though?"
How can you actually think college will be free though?
Sorry, Bernie fans; this one's going to leave a mark, maybe even a burn, if you will.
7. "How can you be a conservative woman when all Republicans want to do is take your rights away?"
On a less sarcastic note, for the most part, I can see why people ask me this. But when you actually get to talking to most of today’s Republicans and especially those of a younger demographic you might be surprised at how people can skew what is deemed as “conservative” into something just completely idiotic. How your 105-year-old great grandpa views women is not what every Republican nationwide believes. I haven’t actually found a rational, relatively normal conservative man that truly believes that a man is better than a woman simply on the basis that he is a man. (Granted, there’s always a sour apple in the bunch.) While some women can view abortion freely, I may not be as comfortable with the idea for my own moral purposes, but that’s an opinion I’m allowed to have just as you are entitled to yours, and no, I won’t mix church with state in my argument. Within the Republican community, yes, being a woman may be the minority, but I personally have never felt victimized by my own political party or felt genuinely disrespected as a person based on the fact that I am a woman. The list is endless, but essentially speaking from a point of view reflective of a younger community, I wouldn’t support a political party that I felt degraded my worth as a human being (refer to human decency number five), and I suggest you all do the same.
While we are far and few between, young conservative women do exist and we are, in fact, normal people too. While it may be easy to assume that all conservatives only care about themselves, degrade women and minorities, and are completely opposed to the modernized world we live in, the majority of the time that is just not the case. As ironic as it may sound, in a world where change is one of the more constant aspects of daily life in respects to technology, socialization, ideas, etc. I think people are afraid of the change a right-leaning woman might bring to the table. This demographic of women certainly defies a historical social norm in our society, but I don’t think it means we deserve all of the backlash and stereotypical judgement from others with opposing views. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, it's probably best to ask someone directly what their beliefs are before judging them, and then you can best determine if they truly have a soul or not.
