Last week tens-of-thousands of women descended on Washington, D.C., and other cities across the country to participate in the Women’s March. On the surface, it sounded like a great idea, but unfortunately, vulgarity and self-disrespect overwhelmed any trace of an equal rights message.
Katie Pavlich is sponsored by Voquartsen Firearms.
First, let’s go back to before the march got underway. When it was revealed just days before the event that the Texas group “New Wave Feminists” held a platform of being pro-life, they were stripped of their sponsorship. Women’s March organizers argued their pro-life stance was “harmful to women” and therefore was removed, turning the “March for Women” into a partisan affair for some women with pre-approved opinions on controversial issues. That was just the beginning.
For years, I’ve heard women rightly demand they be judged on their accomplishments, hard work and character, not by gender stereotypes or their body parts. I was appalled to find a number of women holding signs that read “f*#k you, you f*#king f*#k,” “vulva the resistance,” and far worse. Others paraded around in costumes representing female genitals and wore pink hats self-knitted to represent a “cat.” (Which by the way, wouldn’t knitting blankets for homeless women and their little girls have been a more productive use of time and resources?)
Marching around in a vagina costume or in “cat” hats isn’t empowering, it’s embarrassing and certainly doesn’t effectively prove any substantive point. Women can disagree on tough issues without casting their dignity aside.
Growing up my mother and father taught me that I am capable of doing anything a man can do. My grandparents taught my mother the same and in fact, she’s the best shooter in our clan. My confidence on the range, in the field and in my personal and professional lives has never come from a place of victimhood, but instead from a place of self-confidence and respect. I believe in order to earn respect from others, whether you’re a man or a woman, you must show respect for yourself first.
When I was 11-years old, my dad took me deer and elk hunting for the first time. I was the only female cousin in the family and the only cousin to harvest both animals that year. The previous summer, my male cousins had been especially mean to me and refused to allow me to play baseball with them, since I was a girl. I proved them wrong, albeit in different venue.
Two years ago, I participated in a trap-and-skeet-shooting fundraiser in Maryland. When the range master started to hand me my shotgun for the day, which was a 12-gauge, he looked me up and down and said, “Oh, you’ll probably need the 20-gauge.” To which I responded, “No, I’ll take the 12.”
Again, as the only girl in the group with a bunch of West Point graduates, I ended up coming in second place after a tiebreaker.
Last year, at the NRA annual meetings in Louisville, I was the only woman to speak at the leadership forum in front of thousands of people.
In life, I’ve learned I don’t need to demean myself to make a point, especially when it comes to sexism or equal rights for women. All I need is my dignity, integrity and abilities to prove I’m capable.
The number of women who marched last week was impressive. Their message, however, was not – and they certainly don’t speak for or represent me.
Katie Pavlich is passionate about shooting and hunting. She’s also an advocate of the Second Amendment over at Townhall.com and FOX News. View all posts by Katie Pavlich
I’m glad to see that a woman was as confused as I was about why in the world these women thought they were accomplishing anything by being vulgar.