Are libertarians rude and repressed on principle or by predisposition? Why aren’t more libertarians women? Why aren’t more women libertarians? At the Libertarian Party’s recent convention, held in Chicago at the Marriott, these questions came up in an unofficial panel discussion called “Women in Libertarianism–Success Stories.” Many of the women who participated wondered if objectivism, the laissez-faire philosophy of libertarian heroine Ayn Rand, was connected with certain personality traits often observed among males of the libertarian persuasion. Gathered in a tenth-floor meeting room, they spoke freely.
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A woman busy with needlework in her lap said, “They need us commonsensical types in order to function.” Another said, “I have five children, which is unusual for a libertarian. They’re all libertarians, I’m proud to say. Though my youngest seems to be a totalitarian activist.”
The discussion had barely started when the delegates were called downstairs to nominate the party’s candidate for vice-president of the United States. The winner was Nancy Lord, a woman, who lost her race for mayor of Washington, D.C., last year.
