It’s called “Calendargate,” and it’s raising the question of what — and whom — the right-wing war on “wokeness” is really for.
While most people were enjoying the holidays, extremely online conservatives were fighting about a pinup calendar.
Last month, Ultra Right Beer — a company founded as a conservative alternative to allegedly woke Bud Light — released a 2024 calendar titled “Conservative Dad’s Real Women of America 2024 Calendar.” The calendar contains photos of “the most beautiful conservative women in America” in various sexy poses. Some, like anti-trans swimmer Riley Gaines and writer Ashley St. Clair, are wearing revealing outfits; others, like former House candidate Kim Klacik, are fully clothed. No one is naked.
But this mild sexiness was just a bit too much for some prominent social conservatives, who started decrying the calendar in late December as (among other things) “demonic.” The basic complaint is that the calendar is pandering to married men’s sinful lust, debasing conservative women, and making conservatives seem like hypocrites when they complain about leftist immorality.
There’s a reason “woke” became the rallying cry over the past few years. It’s the only common thread holding the political coalition together. Everything else in each camp is nearly antithetical to one another. They vote together because they have the same enemy, not because they have the same interests or values.
That’s every election cycle with them, they need a boogyman to get people to vote. For “us” it’s Trump, (try to imagine how many people wouldn’t give a shit about voting if it was “only” Biden vs Romney.) For “them” it’s whatever fox says to keep them glued to the t.v, so last time it was vaccine conspiracies and abortion, before that it was the big bad Hillary boogyman and abortion, and now it’s “Woke.”
(As a side note, I get so unbelievably disgusted when I see discussions on “Steam” with new games where it’s always some form of “woke game? Bad! Bad woke game! Don’t buy, woke!” Like for fucks sake, if you don’t want to set a pronoun then don’t! If you don’t want a male character with female hair styles then don’t you don’t have to do these things, they’re options!)
Who knows what it will be next time, maybe they’ll come back around to holding snowballs in Congress to “debunk” climate change… Then again if Trump wins I’m not really sure if there will be a “next time.” I think Republicans know long term they’re going to lose so they need to consolidate power permanently this time.