The word "ideology" has become a fixture in American political rhetoric, invoked by leaders to cast opponents' beliefs as dangerous, stupid or unfounded. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to "defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology," saying he would take "historic action" to reaffirm what he described as a divinely created gender binary. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has similarly criticized "DEI ideologies" in hiring and admissions, arguing instead for merit-based practices.
A year after the most openly misogynist presidential candidate in modern U.S. history defeated, for the second time, an ultracompetent woman and brought a politics of unabashed male dominance to the White House and country writ large, it can feel like something of a quaint throwback to remark on why it's important to have women in positions of power.
The one thing I really couldn't get purchase on from your essay is I never got a sense of whether there were female virtues at all from your piece. If you want to know what I like about women. No, that's not my question. You can ask me. In fact, I invite you to commission from me an entire essay on the subject. What I like about women. My freelance rates are very reasonable. What do you like about women, Helen?
I always thought ballet would be a music box come to life. A dainty princess twirls in a stiff tutu while a prince solemnly assists, and the whole performance would serve up a tax-free inheritance in pointe shoes - polished, rarefied, and untouched by mortal concerns like gravity or sweat. In reality, one heroine fumbles every life decision and ends up in a swamp.
Please don't get married. The reason why you're seeing marriage rates and birth rates decline is because, for the first time in human history, women have had more agency.
