Before the Blue-Haired Liberal, There Was the Witch
Nancy Mace’s “liberal white woman” caricature got me thinking about how often the culture invents a new name for the same unacceptable woman: the one who cares about people outside her assigned circle, asks inconvenient questions, and refuses to shut the fuck up.
Witch. Hysteric. Spinster. Cat lady. Karen. Blue-haired liberal.
The consequences aren’t equivalent, obviously. Political ridicule is not a witch trial. But the rhetorical trick is familiar: turn an inconvenient woman into a type, exaggerate the type until she’s grotesque, then mock the caricature so nobody has to engage with the actual woman.
u/night__witch — 6 days ago