Conservative and Isolated: My Campus Experience at Penn
For young women, the social stigma around conservative values can be isolating. I learned this the hard way in the spring of my freshman year at the University of Pennsylvania, when I decided to join the school’s College Republicans chapter — a fateful decision that ultimately shaped my experience in Philly.
All cards on the table: I actually came into college pretty Left-leaning but politically curious, hoping to get involved in civic life on campus. However, I quickly discovered I was too conservative among my fellow liberals and found myself drifting toward College Republicans. What I found on the Right, to my surprise, was community and connection.
What I found on the Right, to my surprise, was community and connection.
Conservative Women Face a Double Standard
Why are young conservative women so judged?
As I grew closer to other Right-leaning women, I was shocked by the horror stories about the reality of being female and conservative on campus. Fellow club members were nervous about “outing” themselves, worried about the social repercussions from their friend groups. Several girls revealed they wouldn’t and couldn’t get into certain sororities if members discovered their political opinions.
One of my close friends, a younger club member, lost her entire friend group solely because of her conservative views. Her “friends” saw a flyer for a conservative conference on her desk and confronted her, ultimately revealing their intolerance toward differing viewpoints—and their inability to be friends with someone across the aisle.
All of this left a bad taste in my mouth. As an eager, intellectually curious student hopeful to find fulfillment in political dialogue, I often return to this question:
Why are young conservative women so judged—especially by other women?
Why Are Women More Socially Penalized for Conservatism?
Certainly, being conservative on a liberal campus is a feat in itself. But I couldn’t fathom why women seemed to face such a disproportionate social burden compared to our male counterparts. My conservative male friends rarely encountered the same judgment from their peers.
The Demographic Divide
Perhaps part of this is a numbers game. Today, there are more women than men on college campuses—and most identify as liberal. Conservative young women like me are increasingly moving into a politically marginalized space, while the rest of our demographic shifts further Left.
According to Gallup, from 2001–2007, young women (ages 18–29) aligned with liberals on 63% of issues. Today, that number has jumped to a staggering 87%.
But this issue goes beyond the numbers.
The Conservative “Frat Bro” vs. The Conservative Woman
Young women with Right-leaning political views face constant scrutiny, while the stereotyped conservative “frat bro” doesn’t have to confront his politics regularly. At least in my experience, many Democrats already assume these men are a lost cause—caricatures in Vineyard Vines pullovers, hailing from wealthy backgrounds, who fit the liberal mold of what a conservative looks and acts like.
A conservative woman, on the other hand, is a paradox.
After all, what kind of woman could possibly side with the party that supposedly opposes “women’s rights”? — or so the argument goes.
Identity Politics and the Gender Assumption
This past election cycle confirmed that Democrats expect women to hold certain views solely based on gender. Spoiler alert: playing identity politics didn’t work.
Voters didn’t turn out for Kamala Harris just because she’s a woman. The gender game failed. In fact, it backfired. Donald Trump actually performed better among young women than he did in 2016 and 2020, shrinking Democrats’ lead in this demographic by nearly 10 points.
What the Left fails to realize is that for a significant number of American women, conservatism is attractive.
Young conservative women don’t base their views on what’s fashionable among Hollywood celebrities or what the political elite says we should care about. That’s a hard pill for Democrats to swallow—not only during elections but especially on college campuses, where the lie that conservatism will reverse women’s progress is repeated nonstop.
(These are the same people, by the way, who insist in the same breath that women don’t actually have the right to sex-exclusive spaces.)
Turning Scrutiny Into Strength
Yes, the political climate on college campuses is hostile to young conservative women—but there’s hope for change. I’ve seen it firsthand.
In fact, the extra scrutiny makes us stronger. It pushes us to sharpen our arguments and develop our views more deeply, because we’re forced to defend them.
To all conservative young women:
Let the scrutiny become your superpower. Use it to become better, stronger messengers for your values.
And to young Democrats:
Listen to your counterparts. Treating Right-leaning women as backward and out-of-touch contradicts the very values of tolerance and inclusivity you claim to uphold.
Seeking Nuance in a Polarized Climate
And for those like me—too left for the Right and too right for the Left—keep seeking the nuance that most people lack. Because political courage isn’t about fitting in. It’s about being honest, even when it’s unpopular.
