Feminists and the Republican Party

Feminists have had a particularly difficult time working within the Republican party. General anti-feminist sentiment among party members has been exacerbated by well-organized countermovements against specific issues. While Republican feminists have made some gains in furthering their agendas, the tradeoff is that they have been forced to distance themselves from organized feminist groups.

Freeman sums up the Republican party's dim view of women's rights issues, "Currently, the Republican party is attempting to make feminism an electoral liability by labeling it as just another special interest" (242). The Republican party abhors special interest groups. The attitude of the party is that special interests smack of disloyalty. Although there exists within the Republican Party the National Federation of Republican Women, this group is considered an auxiliary. The purpose of this and all other party auxiliaries is to elect Republicans to positions of power. It is considered inappropriate for Republican auxiliaries to lobby for the special interest concerns of their members. Thus any attempt by Republican feminists to take an activist stanc

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Category: Government - F