If you know just one thing about Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, there’s a good chance it’s his evident disdain for “childless cat ladies.” In a recently resurfaced 2021 Fox News clip, the then-Senate-candidate used the term to drag a bunch of Democrats (including Vice President Kamala Harris), saying that they’re “miserable at their own lives and so they want to make the rest of this country miserable, too,” and adding that they “don’t really have a direct stake” in the country’s future. It’s easy to roll your eyes at his use of a discriminatory and tired trope—but it turns out, that’s just the tip of the problematic iceberg when it comes to JD Vance’s views on women.
What the cat-lady façade implies is that the natural and morally correct thing for any woman to do is have a child—specifically, one that comes out of her own body, because apparently, to Vance, Harris’s stepkids don’t count. (It’s all very rich coming from the Ohio senator who voted against the Democratic-backed Right to IVF Act in June and was conveniently absent when the bill was up for a vote again in September.) If the above is true, it follows that a woman should only marry someone of the opposite sex and stay at home to raise their child(ren). It’s an age-old misogynistic concept, but Vance seems dead-set on reviving it, going so far as to suggest women are making themselves unhappy by choosing anything but a life of motherhood (which is downright untrue).
It’s also deeply concerning given our current political landscape, which is increasingly hostile to reproductive health care. Below, we’ve rounded up JD Vance’s disparaging views on women, so you can get a clearer picture of what’s at stake.
1. He agreed that helping raise children is the “whole purpose of the postmenopausal female.”
In 2020, Vance appeared on an episode of The Portal podcast hosted by Eric Weinstein, during which the two got into a conversation on how Vance’s son has benefitted from spending time with his grandparents. In response, Weinstein said, “That’s the whole purpose of the postmenopausal female in theory,” to which Vance replied: “Yes.” (Since this audio resurfaced, a spokesperson for Vance told Newsweek that his agreement—given shortly before Weinstein finished his sentence—was in response to what he thought the host was about to say, which was, “That’s the whole purpose of spending time with grandparents.” But Vance didn’t make that correction or challenge the statement during the recording.)
It’s obviously grossly sexist to claim that any woman’s “whole purpose” revolves around child-rearing. But there’s something even ickier about suggesting that a “postmenopausal” woman—someone who has aged past the years traditionally associated with having kids—is good for nothing more than mothering her kid’s kids. (I mean, who else, if not “grandma and grandpa,” will resolve the child care crisis in this country?)
2. He insinuated that abortion isn’t a “normal” thing that most suburban women care about.
Ah yes, abortion, that abnormal fringe issue. Or at least that’s what Vance seemed to suggest during a recent Fox News segment. When host Laura Ingraham asked him what he might say to the “suburban” women who have perhaps been misled to think abortion is nationally banned and are very concerned about it, Vance replied: “Well, first of all, I don’t buy that, Laura. I think most suburban women care about normal things that most Americans care about.” Blink blink. Sorry, JD, but abortion is a make-or-break issue for 39% of suburban women, according to a Wall Street Journal poll, and a KFF poll found that the vast majority of suburban women (75%) also believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
3. He suggested that women can’t be great leaders or teachers without having kids of their own.
In recently resurfaced remarks during a 2021 Center for Christian Virtue leadership forum, Vance said, in reference to how children are taught in school, “that so many leaders of the left…they’re people without kids trying to brainwash the minds of our children,” adding that this “really disorients me and it really disturbs me.” (He didn’t specify on what grounds.)
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