A sign that says 'Womanhood is not a costume' sits on the floor of the main ballroom where the Young Women’s Leadership Summit took place, in San Antonio, Tex.Janice Dickson/The Globe and Mail
Hundreds of teenage girls and young women, decked out in pastels and florals, filed into a Marriott hotel conference room in San Antonio, Tex., last weekend and danced to Miley Cyrus’s Party in the U.S.A. On their way into the main ballroom, many paused to pose for photos with a sign that said, “Feminine. Not Feminist.”
Under the glow of pink lights and over the course of three days, they would receive wide-ranging advice from a roster of heavyweight speakers aligned with the ascendant right wing of the American conservative movement. They were warned to steer clear of the dangers posed by modern culture, girl-boss ideology, public schools and new ideas about gender identity and expression. They were encouraged to become homemakers and given tips on finding conservative husbands. The political right, they were told, would “out-reproduce” the left.
The event, called the Young Women’s Leadership Summit, targets teens and women in their 20s. It was being put on by Turning Point USA, an influential conservative advocacy group that organizes on American high school and university campuses. For attendees, it was an opportunity to spend a weekend surrounded by other women who share their beliefs.
Many young women at the event told The Globe and Mail that their values are rooted in Christianity, and that they are frustrated by what they characterized as a career-driven culture that has been imposed on them. They said they hoped Donald Trump, who they see as standing in opposition to that culture, would soon return to the White House.
Although Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has aggressively courted conservative Christians and largely won their loyalty, a recent Harvard poll showed him lagging President Joe Biden among young female likely voters by 33 percentage points. And he has been dogged by damaging revelations about his relationships with women, most recently at his criminal trial, where he was convicted of falsifying business records related to a hush-money payment to a porn star.
A sign that says 'Feminine Not Feminist' is displayed on tables outside of the convention.Janice Dickson/The Globe and Mail
With the next presidential election less than five months away, the young women at the Texas gathering represent a slice of the electorate whose support for Mr. Trump is little discussed.
“Despite what girl-boss feminism will tell you, women are not thriving,” conservative podcast host Alex Clark said in her opening remarks to the group. “Women especially emotionally struggle because there is this false notion that we are less than men if we don’t pursue both a career and a family at the same time. And we are absolutely burnt out because of it.”
In interviews, attendees agreed that there is too much pressure on women to do everything at once. Some said they believe choosing to be a stay-at-home mother is frowned upon.
Becky Johnson, a 23-year-old from Ohio who owns a marketing firm, attended the conference with her mother-in-law, Trisha Johnson. Becky criticized what she called “you-culture.” “You try to be all these things, but it’s okay not to be,” she said. She added that she came to the event to be around people who share her values: “Faith, family, freedom.”
Those values, Trisha said, are why she supports Mr. Trump. “And him not being a career politician is huge,” Becky added.
Women, Trisha said, are told they need to excel both at work and as mothers. “In reality, some can balance. But that is very difficult, and so I think it’s good that we honour the fact that they are women first,” she said.
Melanie Foster, a 15-year-old from Houston, attended with her 26-year-old sister, Emma Cottrell, from Oklahoma. Ms. Foster said she objects to the idea that women need to do the same things as men in order to be considered successful.
Melanie Foster, left, and her sister Emma Cottrell. Ms. Foster said she objects to the idea that women need to do the same things as men in order to be considered successful.Janice Dickson/The Globe and Mail
“My goals in life are to get married and have children and to raise the best family that I can, and I feel this pressure that I can’t say that,” she said.
“People don’t know who they are any more,” Ms. Cottrell added. “I think Christianity is the answer.”
Their views were echoed by speakers on the event stage. Far-right conservative commentator and podcaster Candace Owens told the crowd, “Make no mistake, there is absolutely nothing feminine about feminism.”
She added that feminism is about “disturbing healthy relations between the sexes” and is “actually a precursor to transgenderism,” because “it’s telling women to act like men.”
“I think we need to be realistic about our expectations, and it is my hope that more women listening to my podcast pursue the path of homemaker,” she said in response to a question from the audience.
Throughout the weekend, there were complaints about the rising acceptance of transgender people in American society, a favourite conservative talking point that has driven book bans and legislative crackdowns across the country.
A poster shower speakers for the Young Women’s Leadership Summit.Janice Dickson/The Globe and Mail
Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk warned attendees that new ideas about gender present a “pernicious” threat to women.
“How repulsive it is that womanhood is something you can appropriate, as if it is a disguise, or a costume, or a Halloween outfit that you put on,” he told the crowd. He added, “The enemy is launching a supernatural and spiritual attack to destroy womanhood.”
He told attendees that “one of the most evil things” the media does is promote the idea that being a stay-at-home mother isn’t a job. College, he said, is a total scam.
When a young woman in the audience said she had flown in from Montreal and was having trouble finding a Christian conservative man in her home country, Mr. Kirk suggested she move to Texas. “You’ll find a husband in an hour,” he said.
Attendees also heard from Republican Senator Angela Paxton, Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump, former Fox News host Megyn Kelly and Yeonmi Park, a well-known North Korean defector. Other speakers addressed topics such as holistic health – an interest shared by many attendees – and cancel culture.
In the hotel lobby on the conference’s second day, Ashley Kelly, a 20-year-old from Salem, Ore., said the event was empowering.
“I live in a very left state, so it can be very hard to be Republican there,” she said.
After Saturday’s lectures, the summit hosted “girls’ night in.” There was line-dancing to Shania Twain’s Any Man of Mine and bracelet-making.
By noon on Sunday, the presentations had wound down. Expectant mothers, and those who were there with their children, were called to the stage for a photo, and the theme of the conference seemed to reach a kind of fulfilment.
Mr. Kirk, the Turning Point founder, shared the moment on social media. He wrote on X: “Celebrating all the moms at our Young Women’s Leadership Summit this weekend. We’re going to win either now or later, when we outbreed the left!”
Janice Dickson/The Globe and Mail