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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Federalist: Why Conservative Women are So Pretty
Disclaimer: this article popped up in a "suggested reads" advertisement and I found it fucking hilarious. This is tribal narcissism at its most shallow... and it is a hoot to behold.For whatever screwed up reason, the adbot's algorithm on me was suggesting articles from The Federalist ( a rather dopey headed psuedointellectual right wing e-rag full of spurious logic, half-baked economics platitudes, and more cherry picking than a summer orchard in New Hampshire) from several years ago.
And while I found this a fascinating display of beta male privilege fantasy projection, the real gem here is the total psychological unawareness of how much he's putting himself on the couch. This is as compelling as an autopsy
https://thefederalist.com/2016/04/22/why-conservative-women-are-so-pretty/
Why Conservative Women are So Pretty
"The women of the Right are allowed to believe things that the women of the Left are not. It sets them free to be themselves. And thats beautiful."
By Henry Scanlon
Yes... They "are allowed to believe" Red State patriarchs are sooo generousThree years ago I attended the Conservative Political Action Conference and was struck by something I later concluded was probably a figment of my imagination. This year I returned, and, rather than having my recollection dispelled, it was confirmed.
The young women who attend CPAC are spectacular. No kidding: Whats up with this concentration of incredibly attractive young, conservative women? Its noticeable and remarkable. They are beautiful and stylish in the way French women often are, which is to say in their own way, not in a conforming or predictable way. They all look like the girl the high school quarterback wants to date, and they are confident, relaxed, and smart, joking amongst themselves.
Two grafs in and already, I'm assuming our 2016 author (Henry Scanlon) attended CPAC in a slightly soiled trench coat. Perhaps growing his own little "Statue of Liberty" at the thought that he and the high school jocks that used to never let him sit at the cool table were now objectifying the same girlsI spent years in the photography business...
...oh dear...I spent years in the photography business, which causes me to reflexively notice what things look like. On the Left, however, you cant say these things just because they may be true, or, more accurately, especially if theyre true. In other words, okay, I noticed. So sue me.
Perversion excused. But is he seriously arguing that society made him that way? 🤫It is not easy espousing conservative views at any time or place, given that the overwhelming response of the culture, the media and academia is ridicule and dismissal, but it has got to be especially so in those beehives of social approval: high school and college. A young guy who identifies as a conservative might just as well identify as an absolute zero as far as the cool kids are concerned (and maybe a lot of the teachers, too.)
We're all out to get you, Henry. You're outnumbered by savages. No wonder conservatives whack off to Chuck Norris moviesYoung guys who are politically active on the right side of the fence have a lot to lose, most especially any possibility of being regarded as a member of the social elite, and it may be that quite a few of themnot all, by any means, but yes, a great manywho find their way to a conservative worldview at an early age do so because they arent distracted or seduced by the possibility of being homecoming king.
But the smart ones whack off to Ayn Rand novelsLiberated from the siren song of peer popularity, they can instead go deep, emerging to their everlasting credit as constitutional conservatives, maybe even libertarians, able to withstand the onslaught of blame America Howard-Zinn-ification they are assaulted with every day. Instead, they have the time and inclination to figure out how the world really works, and to wonder if maybe the way the world works isnt a little bit different from what theyre hearing from their teachers and the movies and the news outlets.
In time, if their inquiries are diligent, honest, and fearless, a lot of them wind up in the land of the Constitution, God bless them, and of those, a contingent winds up at CPACalong with whole squadrons of the prettiest, smartest girls, who, in contrast to the boys, have also found their way not because they have no hope of being in the in-crowd, but because they have no fear of being ejected from it, since the popularity of an attractive young woman can survive almost anything, including being a conservative.
So now we come to the part where he asks if he can touch her hairDoes that explain it? Maybe. It made some sense to me, but didnt sit well. Implying they embrace conservative views only because they have nothing to lose diminishes the very real accomplishments of these young women, and those of the men, all of whom seem to be warriors for the cause, possessing an inchoate nobility and clear courage that might serve as nothing less than the lifeblood of a better future.
Got it? He's the Christian missionary. Liberals are the savages. This is post-racial MadLibs imperialism. He's replaced the nouns "Christianity" and "The Phillipines" with "Conservatism" and "purple states".
And the adjective "ridiculous" with "inchoate".I sought counsel from my wife. She is European... I told her that the young women of CPAC reminded me of the women you see on the boulevards of Paris, and I asked her why women over there were so famously stylish.
Women of great traditional beauty, but also those who would not be described that way, all had the ability to move through the world with manifest and undeniable élan, self-confidence, and personal style, some of the ingredients of a world-renowned attractiveness, so much so that it has been remarked upon for centuries. Her answer was immediate, as if it was obvious, or should be. Its because they enjoy being a woman. And theyre glad theyre not men.
*snort*The women of the Right are allowed to believe things that the women of the Left are not. They are allowed to believe there is a difference between women and men, female and male, and that those differences are real, not a false cultural construct imposed by a self-interested, manipulative patriarchy. Unlike Gloria Steinem, they can express their femininity in any way they choose to, without fear of being accused of a calumnization of the sisterhood.
I have this image in my head of Henry having an image in his head of Gloria Steinem curled up and whimpering in a corner, paralyzed by the fear that other people will disapprove of her for some dominating orthodoxy.
Aside from the hilarious psychological projection, is our friend Henry really that unaware of Gloria Steinem's career and the American culture she rebelled against?blah blah blah ABORTION blah blah blah GAY MARRIAGE blah blah blah LISA DUNHAM because this was written in 2016...
*ahem, back to Henry*
Maybe it is for these reasons and many similar ones that the women of CPAC walk with a bounce in their step and a light in their eyes, and maybe that is the engine of their attractiveness, the source of their ability to light up the room. They dont mind beingno, they revel in beingattractive and stylish and a woman in any way they choose to do that, and they make short, confident work of the notion that they ought to, instead, get hip to the struggle and head for gender studies class.
Its not that a lot of attractive women, for some reason, find their way to conservative views; its that something about holding conservative views causes womenall women, across the spectrumto become particularly attractive.
At this point, I'm assuming he wrote this as a substitute for the pick up lines he would have used if his wife hadn't come along with him to CPACPut another way, maybe what Im noticing is simply women who have been liberated by their worldview to be who they are, uniquely and confidently, unabashedly and apologetically, unencumbered by the politically correct constraints imposed on women of the Left, and the result is a kind of essential womanhood that, far from being oppressive, as the Left would have it, is instead, miraculous and quintessential, and, you could say, God-given.
for your convenience I underlined the spot where he wraps up by paraphrasing Maya Angelou
As a history teacher, one of the first things I like to iterate with my students is the importance of avoiding ethnocentrism, the belief that your culture is superior to other people's culture, that your norms for wealth or quality music or physical comfort or even human beauty are going to be the same norms for all people around the world.
Nope. As ol' Henry lights up for us, notions of beauty and liberation and basic human justice are socially negotiated and then propagated about the population by social gatekeepers (liberals do this too). Henry, for all his intellectual masturbation, seems to lack the wits to see what he finds attractive is a social consensus of his subculture--the sorts of well educated movement conservatives who go to conventions and aspire to get published in The Federalist.
He assumes that what he sees as beauty, as aesthetically pleasing, is an objective standard. What he is finding "beautiful" is the comfort and reassurance that a woman, if approached (if!) won't challenge his world view. Undoubtedly the women at CPAC (and the men) will present no discomforting ideas to any interactions they'll have with Henry, if he just works up the gumption to go talk to them. This is comforting, and therefore attractive, and therefore nurturing, like his mother's breasts.
Why Henry wants to only have people around him who never challenge his ideas is a topic best left for an actual psychologist's couch.
Anyway, I thought this article gave some unintentional insight to how the conservative mind works.
Marking this for a read.
bedazzled
(1,761 posts)Shallow much?
hlthe2b
(102,236 posts)pbmus
(12,422 posts)The whole essay constitutes a Freudian slip
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,001 posts)Bucky
(54,003 posts)But probably not really. He seems to have evolved from condescending up to patronizing.
But like I point out in my comments, this is a fabulous active psychological projection.
People in the future are going to look back on the 2010s like we today look at the 1920s. It was a time when people could afford to be idiots
lunatica
(53,410 posts)the pretty girls he sees there are looking for wealthy Republican men. His story seems to be about single women prancing around confidently in a Republican convention. Its certainly not about the MAGA women in Trumps rallies.
And his wifes response that French women are beautiful because they like being women is ridiculous. This article is pure compensation for being a reject in college.
ZZenith
(4,122 posts)Dont worry, Henry - someday all those wounds from junior high school will heal and youll be able to have a relationship with an actual woman.
Hang in there, buddy!
Beartracks
(12,809 posts)LakeArenal
(28,817 posts)Yes that woman screaming in the door window was the ideal woman. Not.
It's both funny and insightful. We have the headspace for it, I recommend the read.
Hashtag "Know thy enemy"
LeftInTX
(25,299 posts)I think money is the main factor. CPAC costs money to attend, so people attending will have higher income.
What can you do with more money: Buy stuff that makes you look better! Clothes, make up, hair styling etc etc.
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)I'd bet dollars to donuts that causation of the phenomenon has a lot more to do with the fact that these women are from wealthy families.
It goes something like this:
1) Being attractive gives you an advantage in becoming wealthy
2) Being attractive gives you an advantage in finding an attractive mate, even more so if you're also wealthy
3) Attractive couples tend to have attractive children
4) Wealthy families are better able to protect their children's health, get them braces and other medical/dental care as they grow up, which contributes to their attractiveness as adults
5) Having money in your family helps with your education, makes it more likely you will be successful with money as well
6) Having money means you can afford boob jobs, $200 haircuts, $700 dresses, $500 shoes, and the highest-end makeup.
And thus achieve the 'look' of women that this author finds 'more beautiful'.
Bucky
(54,003 posts)Being tall and good-looking will automatically get you privileges and opportunities in life.
To Henry's credit, he does seem to be talking about inner beauty. However, he's completely moronic about it. He's using left-wing evidence based on ridiculous stereotypes he's picked up from listing to Rush Limbaugh and right-wing evidence based on the girls he spent oogling from behind the planter in the corner of the convention room
Thomas Hurt
(13,903 posts)2naSalit
(86,579 posts)ProfessorGAC
(65,010 posts)You learned nothing about applying knowledge. You wasted your money on that education.
Well, not education. Your college years. Yes, that's more like it.
Turbineguy
(37,324 posts)"The desirability of one sex is directly proportional to the sleaziness of the opposite sex."
hunter
(38,311 posts)Poor Henry.
Beartracks
(12,809 posts)... and yet they all largely achieve the same kind of look-and-feel, as if they were indeed conforming to the norms of some pre-approved template of what beauty is -- a template that Mr. Scanlon himself, and likely most of the men involved with CPAC, already define as beautiful.
===========
JackSabbath
(153 posts)Down here in Georgia we have a LOT of conservative women, and I'm fairly certain they are all sharing the same five teeth
safeinOhio
(32,674 posts)Hmmm. Strong like bull. Good for many babies.
lame54
(35,287 posts)Crunchy Frog
(26,579 posts)And thinks that there's something earth shattering about it.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,106 posts)ismnotwasm
(41,976 posts)But what is essential womanhood??
Bucky
(54,003 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)keithbvadu2
(36,788 posts)Conservative women attractive,
Liberal women ugly
Blue Owl
(50,356 posts)n/t
Xolodno
(6,390 posts)*Conservative guy watching conservative news with a female anchoring*
Conditions;
Wife/Fiance is not at home.
Divorced
Single....and been so for a long time.
Result of conservative guy watching a conservative news show with a female anchoring;
*fwap* *fwap* *fwap* *fwap* *fwap*
DFW
(54,370 posts)I live in Europe, and I speak French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Swedish, and Italian--in short the languages of those "stylish European women" he is gushing about. He should ask them what THEY think of the American extremist right. The answer might differ from the fawning he gets at CPAC from professional hostesses who are paid to say what they think their employers want to hear.
For that matter, he should be reminded of what some of those pretty "conservative" women on Fox Noise have to say AFTER they are "set free" from the phony stereotypes they are so highly paid to represent, and the harassment they are paid to ignore.
Demovictory9
(32,454 posts)he wants it to be as some ideal determined by science. and a major component of his show is male female (of course the female gets the short end of the stick)
Bucky
(54,003 posts)So noted