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Kellyanne Conway Says Being a Feminist Means Being Pro-Abortion & Anti-Male

Kellyanne Conway is once again stirring controversy—this time with what she believes it really means to be a feminist. Conway said she doesn’t consider herself a feminist because she thinks the word is associated with being “pro-abortion” and “anti-male.”

The Washington Post reports that Conway made these comments during an onstage conversation with conservative commentator Mercedes Schlapp at the Conservative Political Action Conference at National Harbor in Maryland.

“It’s difficult for me to call myself a feminist in a classic sense because it seems to be very anti-male, and it certainly is very pro-abortion, and I’m neither anti-male or pro-abortion,” Conway said. “So, there’s an individual feminism, if you will, that you make your own choices
I look at myself as a product of my choices, not a victim of my circumstances.”

At the same conference, she also praised Trump for hiring and promoting women and encouraged women to run for president. “The job for first female president of the United States remains open, so go for it,” said Conway.

She also used the country’s women’s marches against Trump as an example of women having a problem with power. “One thing that’s been a little disappointing and revealing, that I hope will get better, is it turns out a lot of women just have a problem with women and power,” Conway said. “This whole sisterhood, this whole ‘Let’s go march for women’s rights,’ just constantly talking about what women look like or what women wear or making fun of their choices or presuming that they’re not as powerful as the men around, this presumptive negativity about women and power I think is very unfortunate.” 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary quickly took to Twitter to correct Conway’s misinterpretation of the term “feminism.”

Conway was the first woman to ever run a successful presidential campaign in the U.S. and now serves as counselor to President Trump. This is certainly not the first time she has made controversial comments, and it likely won’t be the last.

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Dania De La Hoya

Illinois State

Dania De La Hoya is a senior at Illinois State University double majoring in Journalism and French. She hopes to one day work for anything from a magazine to a newspaper to a TV station. Her biggest goal is to one day publish a fiction novel. When she is not writing or juggling three languages, she can be found binge-watching her latest obsession on Netflix, eating guacamole, or petting cute dogs. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @daniadelahoya.