Network of enlightened Women Information & Network of enlightened Women Links at HealthHaven.com

The Network of enlightened Women (NeW) is a national organization in the United States of traditionalist and conservative university women with chapters at colleges and universities nationwide. Its mission is "to foster the education and leadership skills of conservative university women." Its name refers to the "enlightenment" said to come from rejecting the dominant feminist paradigm in higher education. NeW is considered a conservative counterpart to organizations like the Choices Campus Leadership Program of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

[edit] Activities

NeW was founded in September 2004 by Karin Agness as a book club at the University of Virginia (UVa). Agness found the environment at UVa hostile to conservative women. "While interning in DC (for Senator Lugar)," she said, "I had the opportunity to spend time with other conservative young women. I found this to be a unique environment for me and I really enjoyed it. After talking with some friends, I realized that I was really just a part of a large group of young conservative women who often felt silenced by bold men or feminists."^[1] While NeW chapters continue to read books together, their members also engage in conservative campus activism, such as protesting performances of The Vagina Monologues, hosting speakers and questioning women's studies programs.

[edit] Book club

Some common NeW books include What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us, by Danielle Crittenden; Letters to a Young Conservative, by Dinesh D'Souza; Home Invasion, by Rebecca Hagelin; The Politics of Prudence, by Russell Kirk; What Women Really Want, by Celinda Lake and Kellyanne Conway; The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex, and Feminism, by Carrie Lukas; Women Who Make the World Worse, by Kate O'Beirne; Taking Sex Differences Seriously, by Steven Rhoads; It Takes a Family, by Rick Santorum; A Return to Modesty, by Wendy Shalit; The War Against Boys by Christina Hoff Sommers and Who Stole Feminism? by Christina Hoff Sommers.

[edit] The Vagina Monologues and V-Day

NeW has attracted attention for its campaign against the performance of The Vagina Monologues and the observance of V-Day. NeW members, including Agness, wrote articles criticizing Eve Ensler's play as vulgar, demeaning, and offensive,^[2]^[3] arguing that the explicit content and anatomical obsession of the play has made feminists "their own greatest enemy." These comments were seized upon by bloggers who launched personal attacks against Agness.^[4] In 2006, the NeW chapter at UVa cosponsored a debate with the University Democrats there on The Vagina Monologues.

[edit] Institutional structure

All NeW chapters must be approved by the national organization. The national organization organizes an annual conference for chapter leaders and activists in Washington, D.C..

[edit] Reaction

NeW has been profiled in TIME,^[5] the Washington Times^[6], and other media outlets. Reactions range from criticism to applause, with many observers expressing bemusement at the new organization's perceived marginalization. In October 2006, the comic strip Mallard Fillmore featured NeW twice.^[7]

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

^ Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, "Student Spotlight - Karin Agness," http://www.cblpi.org/students/bio.cfm?ID=83&Type=SpotLight
^ Ramsey, Meredith (2006-02-16). "V is for Vulgar". Cavalier Daily. http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2006/feb/16/v-is-for-vulgar/.
^ Agness, Karin (2006-02-16). "Feminists Have Become Their Own Worst Enemy" (PDF). Townhall.com. http://www.enlightenedwomen.org/images/2006-2-16%20Townhall.com%20on%20TVM.pdf.
^ See "Karin Agness is So Cute I Could Just Eat Her Up (after stewing her in my cauldron!!!!)," Tiny Cat Pants, February 16, 2006, http://tinycatpants.blogspot.com/2006/02/karin-agness-is-so-cute-i-could-just.html; "The Vagina Warriors Are Gonna Getcha," Feministe, February 16, 2006, http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2006/02/16/the-vagina-warriors-are-gonna-getcha: "I just don’t understand the right-wing obsession with The Vagina Monologues. . . . Karin Agness, president of the Network of Enlightened Women at UVA (who I suspect is pissed off because her vagina never taught her how to write effectively) is example A. . . ." See also a response here: "Vulva diary – musing on holy icons, vagina ownership and questions of when all this went from amusing to insane," Darleen's Place, February 19, 2006, http://www.darleenclick.com/weblog/archives/2006/02/vulva_diary_a_m_1.html.
^ Tracy Samantha Schmidt, "What Would Ann Coulter Do?" TIME, June 12, 2006, http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1203281,00.html
^ Alison Hoover, "NEW Movement Sweeps College Campuses," Washington Times, July 16, 2006, http://www.enlightenedwomen.org/images/2006-7-16%20NeW%20Nat'l%20Mtg%20in%20Wash%20Times.pdf
^ See http://www.enlightenedwomen.org/press.htm

[0] Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, "Student Spotlight - Karin Agness," http://www.cblpi.org/students/bio.cfm?ID=83&Type=SpotLight

[cd-vulgar-1] Ramsey, Meredith (2006-02-16). "V is for Vulgar". Cavalier Daily. http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2006/feb/16/v-is-for-vulgar/.

[townhall-2] Agness, Karin (2006-02-16). "Feminists Have Become Their Own Worst Enemy" (PDF). Townhall.com. http://www.enlightenedwomen.org/images/2006-2-16%20Townhall.com%20on%20TVM.pdf.

[3] See "Karin Agness is So Cute I Could Just Eat Her Up (after stewing her in my cauldron!!!!)," Tiny Cat Pants, February 16, 2006, http://tinycatpants.blogspot.com/2006/02/karin-agness-is-so-cute-i-could-just.html; "The Vagina Warriors Are Gonna Getcha," Feministe, February 16, 2006, http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2006/02/16/the-vagina-warriors-are-gonna-getcha: "I just don’t understand the right-wing obsession with The Vagina Monologues. . . . Karin Agness, president of the Network of Enlightened Women at UVA (who I suspect is pissed off because her vagina never taught her how to write effectively) is example A. . . ." See also a response here: "Vulva diary – musing on holy icons, vagina ownership and questions of when all this went from amusing to insane," Darleen's Place, February 19, 2006, http://www.darleenclick.com/weblog/archives/2006/02/vulva_diary_a_m_1.html.

[4] Tracy Samantha Schmidt, "What Would Ann Coulter Do?" TIME, June 12, 2006, http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1203281,00.html

[5] Alison Hoover, "NEW Movement Sweeps College Campuses," Washington Times, July 16, 2006, http://www.enlightenedwomen.org/images/2006-7-16%20NeW%20Nat'l%20Mtg%20in%20Wash%20Times.pdf

[6] See http://www.enlightenedwomen.org/press.htm

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