The Republican Party has been called anti-woman. They have been accused of declaring a war on women. They have been called and accused of many things, but one thing is for sure, the Republican Party is not against women. Unbeknownst to many, the Republican Party was actually very pro-woman and campaigned for women’s rights far earlier and more often than the Democratic Party. It was not until the 1980 election that the few women who identified themselves as feminists were virtually shunned from the Republican Party.

Being a Republican feminist is seen as a paradox by most people of my party. I am often asked why I identify with the Republican Party if I am a feminist. The truth of the matter is feminism has no correlation with either party; there is nothing in either party’s platforms to support or denote feminism. To identify myself as a Republican feminist would seem rather revolutionary except for the fact it is not. To identify as a feminist within the party is really far more of a classic and traditional Republican Party stance than a newly conceived idea. The Republican Party’s roots lie deep in women’s rights and equality.

To say the Republican Party is about traditional family values is far more revolutionary, than to say they are feminists. Traditional family values only became a part of the party’s platform in the Goldwater election of 1964, when feminists were viewed as too liberal for the right.

Republican feminists have been and will always be a part of the Republican Party. They have infiltrated the party and fought for the voting rights we women now enjoy today. They made huge strides in creating equal pay for women and pushed for the Equal Rights Amendment to be passed in congress.

Notable women such as Betty Ford, wife of President Gerald Ford, fought for women and was known to be the last of the “unapologetic” Republican feminists because of her frank support of the Equal Rights Amendment and women equality. J. Ellen Foster, founder of the National Women’s Republican Association, and Mary Crisp, co-chairwoman of the Republican National Convention in 1977, are also strong and notable Republican feminists. Crisp, however, was practically written out of the Party in the 1980 election for her views on feminism.

Republicans played a key role in the passing of the 19th Amendment. The amendment passed in 1919 by a Republican congress after having been rejected four times by a senate controlled by Democrats. When the Equal Rights Amendment was drafted by Alice Paul in the 1923, Republican Sen. Charles Curtis and Rep. Daniel Anthony were the first to take to the helm of passing the amendment through Congress.

The amendment was first supported by the GOP in 1940 and was met with strong oppositional forces from the Democrat Party. The first presidents to support the amendment (Eisenhower, Nixon and Ford) all identified with the Republican Party, and the amendment was opposed by President Kennedy. It was not until the amendment was removed from the Republican Party platform for the second time in 1980 and the formation of the “new right” that women of the Republican Party began to fear the label of feminist.

To say Republican feminism is dead cannot be true. Perhaps the term feminism has just been misconstrued over the past several decades. My party is filled with women who shoot guns with freshly manicured hands. My party is filled with women who raise kids, cook the family dinner and work 40 hour weeks for equal pay. My party is filled with strong, independent women who are stubborn and know what they want and make their own choices on their own terms. If that is not a Republican feminist, I do not know what is.

Unfortunately, Republican feminists are at risk of becoming obliterated due to public speakers who are adamantly against women’s rights. Ann Coulter is unfortunately a woman with a lot of influence and has made huge advancements in her career chooses to publicly speak out against women’s rights, even the right to vote. She actively makes it a point to mock the modern feminist movement, rather than speak out about what it should be.

Somewhere along the way feminism came out to be a dirty word. Somewhere along the way women started taking their rights for granted. Somewhere along the way women stopped remembering the fight so many women dedicated their lives to. Somewhere along the way the Republican Party lost sight of its pro-feminism stance. And somewhere along the way women lost sight of true feminism. Once we lose sight of feminism I fear there to be a loss of pride in being a woman.

Republican feminism cannot simply be scoffed at. It should be researched and taken back to its roots and reclaimed as a source of pride among the right. Besides, being classic is revolutionary.