How 2010s feminism helped Trump gain the support of female voters
The Make America Great Again movement, often referred to as “MAGA,” has amassed a significant group of female supporters. Looking back at feminist movements from the 2010s, few would expect that an estimated 45 percent of women would vote for Donald Trump, a man notorious for his inappropriate comments towards women. Although Trump’s past rhetoric towards women may alienate some female voters, the MAGA movement has been able to attract women through its push toward traditional femininity and family life as a refuge from the burnout caused by the 2010s “girlboss” feminism.
In the 2010s, the rise of mainstream feminism, promoted particularly by the left, created opportunities and established high expectations for women in the workplace. This is seen through Sophie Amoruso’s book, #Girboss (2014), and the surge in high-ranking female executives as they became more prominent in society. With this trend came a rise in workaholic culture. A famous example is when the Chief Executive Officer of Yahoo Inc., Marissa Mayer, claimed that working a 130-hour workweek was doable if people are “strategic about how often [they] go to the bathroom.” Many women faced intense burnout due to the unrealistic expectations and mistreatment they faced in the workplace. Because the movement was a form of progressive feminism, it caused many women to feel alienated from the left and gravitate towards the promise of more traditional femininity and family lifestyle.
Mayer pulled a minimum of one all-nighter per week while working at Google. Jennifer Romolini, author of Ambition Monster, had to take calls the week she gave birth. According to Bloomberg, the girlboss motto has since shifted toward the “pleasures of giving up,” and the MAGA community has harnessed this mentality, particularly through the rise of influencers, the promotion of the “tradwives” trend (slang for traditional wives), and various magazines.
Across the United States, women are flooded with content surrounding their identity. Recent trends such as “I’m just a girl” or “girl dinner” might appear innocent at first glance. In reality, they are actually a rejection of the strong, independent ideals that emerged a decade ago, carrying undertones of infantilization that contrast with the headstrong independence of the 2010s. Influencers such as Nara Smith and Hannah Neeleman, Mormon women leading family-centric lifestyles with conservative values, have recently gained traction online, highlighting a shift toward a desire to live a more traditional lifestyle, which may involve prioritizing marriage, motherhood, and religious values over independent career ambitions. This does not mean that all women in the United States share these opinions, but many who identify with MAGA often choose to do so based on these more traditional beliefs.
After the long period of convincing women they weren’t doing enough—that, like Romolini, they would have to sacrifice their wellbeing and family to have a career—many women in society have felt more welcomed by the MAGA movement. Alex Clark, a podcast host for the MAGA-affiliated Turning Point USA, told her audience, “Less burnout, more babies, less feminism, more femininity.” This message has proven effective, with Turning Point USA’s “Americafest” drawing over 30,000 attendees, approximately 54% of them being women. “Feminism promised empowerment. But you know what it delivered? It delivered emptiness,” conservative activist Riley Gaines told the audience at the conference. She said that feminism told women that “children are burdens, that family is a limitation.” Women who might want children without feeling shamed or limited by the workplace and women who might prefer a more traditional or religiously-centered family life are more likely to align themselves with MAGA.
Many supporters of the movement actually disagree with other aspects of the campaign. Racquel Debono, a MAGA enthusiast, throws parties for young supporters in an effort to promote the movement. However, despite most of the movement’s discouragement of hookup culture, many of the young partygoers engaged in casual sex during these parties, demonstrating that a large range of people support MAGA. Furthermore, while Debono herself supports Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, she has no care for whether or not gay marriage or abortion should be outlawed, highlighting the diversity of voters and their respective values that MAGA can capture.
In addition to their podcast hosts like Alex Clark, MAGA has utilized magazines to capture support from women who otherwise would not have been won over by Trump. Media such as The Conservator and Evie Magazine have drawn an audience of women who want Vogue or Cosmopolitan, but without their left-leaning reporting. Evie Magazine has branded itself as “classier than Cosmo, sexier than Refinery29, and smarter than Bustle” in attempts to frame its conservative femininity as a sophisticated alternative to current women’s media. This has won over a large demographic of women, as associate professor at University College London Katie Gaddini says, “These publications pull women who are already conservative further to the right.” Both the Conservative and Evie Magazine have a clear goal: to win over the women of America for the benefit of MAGA.
After the crash of the girlboss phase of the 2010s, the reversion back toward more traditional values and lifestyles has been welcomed by many women across the United States. Rather than convincing women that Trump would be a stronger candidate or advocate of women, the Make America Great Again movement won women over through its appeal to their reality: exhausted and burnt out.
