Over the summer, Pete Hegseth, the United States Defense Secretary (recently renamed Secretary of War), reposted a videotaped interview of Doug Wilson, Pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. Doug Wilson Interview The interview begins with Pastor Wilson stating, “Women are the kind of people that people come out of”. The statement was shocking. The look on the face of CNN Anchor and Chief Investigative Correspondent Pamela Brown was priceless and no doubt mirrored my own. As the interview continues, Pastor Wilson, several of his fellow pastors, and parishioners espouse the beliefs that men are the head of the household, women are subservient, and women should not hold positions of leadership. Executive Pastor Jared Longshore stated he would support repealing the 19th Amendment of the Constitution thereby abolishing a woman’s right to vote. His rationale is “The atomization that comes with our current system is not good for humans.” (CNN, 2025) Since he did not elaborate on this statement it is impossible to understand his intent but one interpretation that aligns with the patriarchal ideology of his church is that women’s involvement in decision making causes disunity. It would have been simpler to say that in his opinion, when women are allowed to make their own decisions, it is not good for men.
In addition to his role of Pastor at Christ Church, Doug Wilson is also a co-founder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC). Founded in 1998 this coalition of churches emphasizes the importance of creeds, confessions, and liturgies to achieve a goal of “maintaining its Reformed faith, avoiding the pitfalls of cultural relevance and political compromise that destroys our doctrinal integrity”. (CREC, n.d.) In addition to preaching patriarchy, this Reformed faith strictly prohibits abortion, sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, and gender diversity. Besides repealing the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, Wilson and some of his followers also support rescinding legalization of gay marriage. A deeper dive into their website provides a more intimate look at the expectations for parishioners’ strict adherence to the doctrinal beliefs and the punishment for disobedience. Exactly how large is this following? It is difficult to find an accurate estimate of the total number of congregants but CREC lists 134 churches in 39 states in the United States (US) with the highest concentration in Texas (12), Washington (11), Idaho (8), and Virginia, Tennessee, and Florida with seven each. Internationally CREC has an additional 25 churches in 11 countries including Canada, Brazil, Australia, the British Isles, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Japan, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Half of these churches are in Canada (7) and Ukraine (6). (CREC, n.d.) Suffice it to say CREC is extending its reach and with Hegseth on board and a new church in Washington D.C. that held its first service in July of this year, they are working hard to influence members of the current administration. While Doug Wilson, his churches, and his beliefs are a growing force for a return to the conservative religious and patriarchal dominance of an earlier era he is not alone. There are other individuals and organizations pushing this same agenda.
The tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10th has drawn the spotlight to his activism and Turning Point USA (TPUSA), the organization he founded. I examined the TPUSA website looking for a mission statement to get a better sense of the organizational goals but was unable to find anything conclusive. In a brief section titled “The Fight Continues” it states the movement Kirk founded is “rooted in faith, freedom, and love of country” and raising a generation that “would NEVER SURRENDER”. (TPUSA, n.d.) The final sentence emphatically states that the organization will continue to defend the future of America until freedom prevails. These generalities did not help me understand the beliefs or goals of Kirk or the organization. Freedom, never surrender, and defend are certainly a unifying and mobilizing call to action but it is unclear what or who the fight is against. The most prominent features of the TPUSA homepage are the seven buttons for donation. It also includes links to upcoming events, student organizations for both high school and college students, featured content, news stories, merchandise, social media, and subscribing. A review of recent news reports and Kirk’s program Prove Me Wrong, described as a debate platform with college students, provides more substantial information about his beliefs.
At the age of 18 Kirk failed to gain admission to West Point and launched TPUSA. His target audience was high school and college students and his initial platform focused on limited government and free markets. Over time Kirk’s organization began producing shows that rivaled rock concerts with guest speakers from the conservative movement. These college campus rallies attracted large numbers of young voters. He supported a gun rights, antiabortion, patriarchal, conservative agenda that has influenced a generation. (Cappelletti & Cooper, 2025) He expanded his reach with a nationally syndicated podcast, speaking engagements, and publishing several books with his estimated net worth at the time of his death approximately $12 million.
Clicking through several of the Prove Me Wrong clips on the TPUSA website was illuminating and provided a glimpse of Kirk’s personality and style of interaction. In one clip, a female college student asks how she can facilitate conservativism among women. Kirk agrees with her that liberal women have “lots of daddy issues” and reference is made to a prior speech where Kirk linked these women with sexual promiscuity. He also states “We have more single women in their early 30’s that are the most depressed, suicidal, anxious, lonely in America’s history because of the biological clock that’s going off and they realize that they’re not going to be able to have kids, that they are not as desirable in the dating market or the dating pool and so they start to lash out on the rest of society.” His answer to this problem is for women to “reject the siren song of modernity and have lots of kids”. (TPUSA, n.d.) Kirk Prove Me Wrong Clip His delivery of this material is authoritative and inflammatory at times, more so in clips where students disagree with his ideas.
Kirk’s Prove Me Wrong clips are described as debates. True debate is very formal and structured with equal time given to participants and a requirement for providing evidence to support claims. It is also a civilized event where value is placed on the strength of a logical argument devoid of strong emotion and inflammatory language. Kirk’s videos possess none of these qualities. In the referenced video clip, Kirk’s debate partner agrees with his views, his presentation is informal and lacks evidence to support his claims. This lack of evidence may have been an oversight on his part or an intentional omission because there is no evidence to support his claims. At the time of this writing, the First Amendment to the Constitution still protects free speech in this country and I support it wholeheartedly. Everyone has a right to express their views without retaliation but care should be taken in identifying statements as fact versus personal opinion. People can take personal responsibility for expressing their opinions thoughtfully without the use of intentionally offensive, inflammatory, or derogatory language. If we expect this standard and enforce accountability through social norms we would live in very different world.
Wilson and Kirk’s attempts to influence men to adopt conservative values and increase the power and influence of men has far reaching implications. Could their strategy also involve using women to push this agenda on other women? The tradwife (traditional wife) movement has been gaining momentum over the last five years, thanks in large part to a growing presence on social media. The Tradwives Club, created in the summer of 2021 described itself as “creating and cultivating a brand centered around counter-cultural values rooted in traditional Truths” focusing on “faith, family, femininity, marriage, and gender roles”. (Sykes & Hopner, 2024) There is a strong identification as feminine not feminist among Tradwives and their supporters. The word feminine refers to characteristics typically associated with women or girls. (Meriam-Webster, n.d.) The definition itself is not a checklist of attributes that make someone feminine. The word feminist generally refers to support for social, economic, and political equality for women and men. (Meriam-Webster, n.d.) There is nothing in these definitions to indicate they are mutually exclusive. I would argue that a woman who embraces feminist beliefs can also have strong faith, be a loving and supportive partner and parent, enjoy an engaging career of her choice, and be feminine. It is distasteful enough to have men define women’s femininity but it is disheartening and divisive when women try to dictate femininity to each other.
Women in the tradwife movement have capitalized on the influencer culture and on-line marketing aspects of social media. They have amassed significant followers and, in some instances, turned a nice profit with advertising, promotions, and on-line businesses aimed at increasing the presence of the movement. (Sykes & Hopner, 2024) On the surface their message may seem harmless but the movement is fueled by a larger agenda with enough political backing to have devastating consequences for women’s rights. For several centuries after the founding of this country, women’s submissive status was not just a social construction but a legal reality as well. The laws of coverture prevented women from having their own money and owning property. Legally women were not even protected from emotional, physical, or sexual mistreatment from their husbands with this denial of bodily autonomy extending to decisions about pregnancy. Many women were allowed to own property beginning in the early 1900’s and all women earned the right to vote in 1920. Abortion became legal in 1973. Women were finally allowed to obtain credit cards in their own name in 1974. Marital rape was not legally punishable in all US states until 1993. (Beatty, 2024) While the Trad Wife Movement does not specifically advocate revocation of these rights, the push for a return to patriarchy makes them vulnerable. We have already seen the reversal of Roe v Wade in 2022, something many thought could never happen and there is public debate about repealing the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. This would destroy the hard work of generations of women who fought valiantly for these rights. The scariest part of this potential outcome is not the setback but the realization that once we go back, we may never recover.
In an interesting deep dive analysis of three tradwife influencers Proctor (2022) suggests that in addition to espousing a return to patriarchy, the tradwife movement is attractive to and reinforces a framework of systemic white supremacy. While most tradwives do not claim alliance with white supremacist organizations the movement contains ingredients of both systemic white supremacy and misogyny. While there do not appear to be direct ties between Doug Wilson, Charlie Kirk, and the tradwife movement with far-right extremist groups like the Proud Boys, they share common beliefs and goals and the former can certainly serve as an introduction to this content and a gateway to the latter. Taken together these organizations and groups reach a large number of Americans which is a sobering thought.
What is behind this movement? There are most likely multiple factors involved but a return to values of an earlier era will not solve the current problems plaguing the United States however reviewing and learning from our past can be quite valuable. As a country we have certainly made mistakes along the way but our accomplishments are remarkable and our potential is still viable. The founding of our country was an escape from the monarchy in Britain. As stated by James Madison “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” (Madison, 1788) The concern was continuing this type of government in the newly formed country would lead to abuse of power and infringement on individual rights. Key principles for the new government included protection of individual rights, government by and for the people, separation of power using multiple branches of government for checks and balances, and separation of church and state. The current movements pushing patriarchy, religious and white nationalism, and extremism are gaining traction and moving us further away from democracy and closer to autocracy, infringing on the rights of many. Can we return to an America where every person is free to express their opinion without retaliation, an America where free will still exists rather than forced choice through coercion, threat, blackmail, and violence?
Photo by Kathy Kroening. Kalaloch, Olympic National Park, WA. December 2017
If we want to protect the rights of the many not just the few, there is some serious work to be done. For women, we are at a precarious tipping point when it comes to protecting our rights. It is imperative that women unite in advocating for every woman’s freedom to make the choices that work best for her. Can we invite our husbands, partners, fathers, brothers, sons, friends, and colleagues who share our views to join us? Can we celebrate our diversity and what it brings to our country and work together to protect the rights of everyone? Can we follow in the footsteps of those whose bravery and boldness shaped this country into a proud democracy celebrating our diversity and our freedom? Now is the time to persevere and push forward because there really is no going back.
Until next time sisters stay safe, be well, be kind to yourself, support each other, and spread the love.
Photo by Kathy Kroening. Seattle, WA. May 2025
References:
Beatty, J. (2024). The Truth About the Past That ‘Tradwives’ Want to Revive. Made By History. Time.com. https://time.com/6962381/tradwives-history/
Cappelletti, J. & Cooper, J. (2025). How Charlie Kirk Helped Shape a Conservative Force for a New Generation. PBS News. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-charlie-kirk-helped-shape-a-conservative-force-for-a-new-generation
CNN (2025, August 8). Christian Nationalist Pastor Says Women are the Kind of People that People Come out of. [Video] CNN.com https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/08/us/video/christian-nationalist-doug-wilson-women-pam-brown-vrtc
Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (n.d.) The Story. CREChurces.org https://crechurches.org/story/
Madison, J. (1788). The Federalist Papers: No. 47. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed47.asp
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 11, 2025, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminine
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 11, 2025, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism
Proctor, D. (2022). The #Tradwife Persona and the Rise of Radicalized White Domesticity. Persona Studies, 8(2), 7-26. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368268095_The_Tradwife_Persona_and_the_Rise_of_Radicalized_Domesticity
Sykes, S. & Hopner, V. (2024) Tradwives: Right Wing Social Media Influencers. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 53(4), 453-487. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08912416241246273
Turning Point USA (n.d.). How the Left is Failing Women [Video} TPUSA.com https://youtu.be/q7mG8Ae47qw
Turning Point USA (n.d.). The Fight Continues. TPUSA website. https://tpusa.com/
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