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Turning Point Action, an arm of the far-right organization TPUSA and brainchild of organizer Charlie Kirk, is hosting a summit this weekend to promote conservatives’ warped, gender-obsessed view of how society should be run.
The Young Women’s Leadership Summit, which will take place from June 7-9 in San Antonio, Texas, has been branded an opportunity for MAGA women to “reclaim womanhood”— though “feign victimhood” might be a better slogan.
Conservatives have attacked women’s bodily autonomy, opposed restrictions on child marriage, rolled back sexual assault protections on college campuses in the name of protecting men, and backed a man found liable for sexual abuse and defamation as their presidential nominee. Yet, right-wingers have promoted the false idea that womanhood is “under attack” by the existence of trans people and some women’s rejection of the view that their only roles should be homemaking and child-rearing.
And the summit plans to feature several MAGA women who’ve done well trafficking in this kind of hysteria, from far-right agitator Candace Owens to anti-trans activist Riley Gaines to former Fox News host Megyn Kelly and others.
Feast your eyes on this lineup:
Attendees at last year’s event were treated to speeches from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake; a “Make Canceled Cool” discussion panel for MAGA women to gripe about public criticism they say they’ve received for their ultraconservative views; and even dating advice from TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk.
A Washington Post dispatch from last year’s event perfectly describes the combination of the grifting and far-right victimhood one can expect at these events:
In the exhibition hall, the young women were greeted with products that were created for feminine non-feminists. Like Garnuu, a brand that proudly declares that feminine products are for “Girls Only. Period.” Or Hope Beauty, which sells “biblically inspired cosmetics.” Or the Right Stuff, a dating app for women who want to filter out any men who might be — as Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk put it during a session on dating advice — “feminized versions of metrosexual culture.” Or Turning Point’s official merchandise, which includes a sweatshirt proclaiming, in the style of the Chanel No. 5 logo, that, “No 1 cares about your pronouns.”
This summit is not an outlier, either. As I've noted previously, Turning Point USA and its affiliates are leading the public relations effort for Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Trump even appeared at a TPUSA-aligned church Thursday. And the summit is drawing some of the movement's most well-known figures for promoting this outmoded conception of womanhood. Turning Point Action is hosting what it is calling “The People’s Convention” — essentially, an off-brand RNC convention — in Michigan next week, slated to draw right-wing lawmakers and influencers.
But the summit also shows how gender politics are playing a key role in the GOP’s push to regain control in Washington. The MAGA movement is structured around hypermasculinity, and that worldview requires women to abide by rigid gender roles that undermine their civil rights and sense of independence.
The Young Women’s Leadership Summit is an attempt by Republicans to put a positive spin on what that will likely mean for the women of the United States.