Catholicism, and the conservative movement more generally, is currently facing a profound and unexpected dilemma. As they succeed in bringing in young men, they are driving away young women. Young men seem to be coming back to church, but young women are leaving. Why is this? And more importantly, what should be done about it?

As a recent essay by Sam Adler-Bell in New York Magazine demonstrates, a major reason for this divide has been relentless leftist feminist messaging. For decades, leftist corporate media has repeatedly accused conservatives and Christians of systemic sexism and misogyny. To bolster this old argument, Adler-Bell enlisted former right-wing female influencers to share the story of how their original enthusiasm was crushed by oppressive male chauvinists and obnoxious catcallers.

The pattern described in the essay is familiar to anyone who follows conservative media: an attractive young woman becomes popular by making anti-feminist arguments, she continues producing ever more provocative content along these lines, and then she finally falls from grace through some scandal or by loudly disavowing conservatism for writers at New York Magazine.

Although Adler-Bell purposely exaggerates how these stories reflect conservative Christian culture as a whole, it reflects something significant all the same. In search of clicks, many smart young conservative women aspire to become prominent right-wing e-girls, posting glamour shots of themselves and mouthing right-wing slogans, thereby pleasing and affirming a growing audience of lonely men who have adopted the most toxic elements of conservatism and pine for a harem of trad-concubines. All parties involved are worse off from the experience, and the whole discussion on modern sexual dynamics suffers. 

An attractive young woman becomes popular by making anti-feminist arguments, she continues producing ever more provocative content along these lines, and then she finally falls from grace through some scandal or by disavowing conservatismTweet This

Yes, these women mostly have themselves to blame for many of the rude responses from lustful men whom they gladly encourage. Yes, their choice to defect to the other side to portray themselves as victims of toxic masculinity is likely driven by shameless opportunism. And yes, the misogyny they ascribe to all conservatives and Christians is hardly representative.

But despite all that, conservatives should still take this criticism seriously. So long as writers like Sam Adler-Bell can find such people to testify against the conservative movement, and so long as it resonates with a vast swath of the public, progressive feminism will continue guiding women astray. They will assume that Christians and conservatives hate women, that killing the unborn equals freedom and empowerment, and that marriage and childbearing will rob them of a fulfilling life.

Some Christians have responded to this by attempting to baptize modern feminism, casting its founders as good Christians seeking to reform society by peacefully advancing women’s rights. As Carrie Gress (whom I interviewed here) explains in her latest book, Something Wicked: Why Feminism Can’t Be Fused with Christianity (which I reviewed here), this simply doesn’t work. Modern feminism is fundamentally incompatible with Church teaching and the Christian understanding of womanhood. It is based on the idea that sex is a social construct, not a material and spiritual reality. By its very definition, modern feminism opposes childbearing, marriage, and all expressions of femininity because these things expose the profound differences between the sexes that no drug, policy, or awareness campaign can overcome.

Some Christians have responded to this by attempting to baptize modern feminism, casting its founders as good Christians seeking to reform society by peacefully advancing women’s rights. Tweet This

Another common response from conservatives and Christians is to police the public discourse ever harder. If any conservative writer does not preface his or her criticism of modern feminism with an elaborate condemnation of Nick Fuentes, Andrew Tate, and Ballerina Farm, he or she will immediately run afoul of what is acceptable. Although usually well-intentioned, this approach cedes the faulty premise of leftists that conservatives and Christians really do have a misogyny problem, one that they need to renounce every time they broach the topic. Such insecurity is a turnoff and will only drive away women ever further.

Of course, conservatives can always respond by rebutting the claims one by one, as conservative writers Peachy Keenan and Dudley Newright did on a recent podcast episode. This can feel validating for conservatives and Christians who want to restore parity and complementary between the sexes and create the best conditions for conjugal love and family life, but this does little to persuade those on the Left who lack the basic intellectual framework to comprehend these goals.

This is why conservatives should opt for a different approach to this challenge altogether, one that focuses on how womanhood and feminism are presented more than the issues themselves. If today’s popular influencers are giving people a false view of the traditional Christian understanding of femininity, then Christians hoping to set the record straight should push back against those popular influencers. All too often, the problem is not their controversial speech but their enormous reach. For example, Ashley St. Clair, a typical right-wing e-girl as well as the one-time mistress of Elon Musk, should not be allowed to speak for women in the conservative movement. She should be recognized as the attention-seeking grifter she is and, subsequently, be ignored.

If today’s popular influencers are giving people a false view of the traditional Christian understanding of femininity, then Christians hoping to set the record straight should push back against those popular influencers.Tweet This

Ironically, women like St. Clair often owe their rise to conservatives’ deference to feminism. They may lack talent or insight, but many conservative publications and platforms will gladly promote them in order to seem less sexist and to better appeal to a female audience. By virtue of their opinions and good looks, these women will quickly achieve fame and become the conservative authorities on womanhood. However, within a few years, these women will age out of the role or become caricatures of themselves to fetch ever more attention (see: Candace Owens or Lauren Southern).

Therefore, in order to truly end this narrative of marginalizing and debasing women, Christians and conservatives need to stop indulging the vanity of online influencers and devote their attention to wiser people. There are so many fine writers and thinkers, both men and women, in today’s conservative movement and Catholic Church that no one needs to waste time subscribing to cute bimbos who happen to sport the right political and religious labels.

In practical terms, Christians and conservatives need to change who they follow on social media and even consider limiting their usage of social media. In order to rebuff the sexist stereotypes, they need to become active readers with a capacity for understanding, not mindless consumers of right-wing slop. If this happens, the hit pieces will no longer hit, and the conversation can move forward. The age of the e-girl is over. Now is the time for enlightened spokespeople to take charge so that the culture can finally improve and women can feel properly welcomed.