ABSTRACT
Social conservatism speaks to problems and fears created by the enormous social upheaval in the United States, which witnessed changes in blacks' relations to whites, women's relations to men, and children's relations to parents. The pro-family movement expresses fears resulting from teenagers' cultural independence from parents; it expresses parents' concerns about their children's getting pregnant, having abortions, abusing drugs, or being sexual without a context of responsibility. Social conservatives believe that feminism also denigrates the very status of the homemaker. Paradoxically the very success of the feminist movement's increase in female participation in politics has also meant the increased involvement by women opposed to the goals and values at the core of feminism. The fundamental division between right-wing women that emerged from these sources can be presented as two distinct ideologies or ideal types: the social conservative and laissez-faire conservative worldviews. Like social conservatives, laissez-faire conservatives deplore the current direction and spirit of America.
