Liberating Motherhood

Liberating Motherhood

Is it possible to convert right-wing women to feminism? My experience says yes.

People change their mind when they see how political decisions affect their lives.

Zawn Villines's avatar
Zawn Villines
Oct 22, 2025
∙ Paid

pssst…this is the last week to take my survey on medical misogyny and racism and my survey on sexuality in relationships.

I have a follower who leaves incredibly insightful comments on my Facebook page nearly every day. She supports other women, insults racist trolls, and helps me keep my page a safe place.

But if you go back far enough in her Facebook history, you’ll see the anti-immigration rhetoric she used to post. She, like hundreds of other followers, has told me that I—along with other feminists and thinkers—helped her change her mind.

I’ve convinced hundreds of right wing women to become progressively more leftist. Women who once homeschooled their children for fear of exposing them to anything secular now applaud my work. For many, the conversion has been swift. For others, it’s unfolded steadily over time.

As the United States works overtime to become fascist dictatorship, as removing women’s right to vote becomes more popular, it can be difficult to see hope. But I see women of all political persuasions laying down the roots of an uprising. I believe this latest round of authoritarian bullshit is a backlash against all the progress we’ve made and can still make. If we build real political solidarity among those most affected by this tyranny, then all of the right wing horrors can become nothing but an extinction burst that gives rise to a better world.

During the first Trump administration, a lot of navel-gazing centrist nonsense—including that horrible book by known turd J. D. Vance—pretended that the enlightened thing to do was to listen to the terrible, and terribly stupid, ideas people on the right were peddling. They argued that by shifting rightward, the left could pick up votes.

But then, what would be the point of getting votes, if our movement became no better than theirs? We cannot pretend that bad ideas are good, and this has left many on the left scratching their heads about how to bring people over without activating their defensiveness.

I’m converting right-wing women without arguing with them, yelling at them, or ceding any political ground. How am I doing it?

This is a bonus piece offering additional work for paid subscribers, who keep this publication alive. This is part of my semi-annual membership drive, which offers a huge discount and a ton of other incentives. Learn more about what you can get here.

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