Libertarians fail to see how women—or men—can be free of domination when they are dominated by a coercive government. If one of the goals of feminism is to achieve a society in which women are free to make their own decisions about their lives independent of the coercive domination of men, we fail to see how a government currently dominated by men is an improvement, let alone feminist. Furthermore even if a government like we have today was dominated by women, it would still be coercive and therefore oppressive. Why would any libertarian object to this perspective? But attack and object to us they do.

However Stubbart does point to some important issues. Yes, it will be hard for many women to see that government is their enemy more than their friend, just as it is hard for many men to see that. The women are not unique in being blind to the harm that governments do. But that isn’t the major reason why there are so few women libertarians. Instead, as Luttrell, Taylor, and I have argued, the lack of libertarian women is due to the fact that the libertarian movement as a whole is not welcoming to nor concerned with so‐​called women’s issues and is sometimes even hostile to women. Part of the fault is a libertarian movement that has mostly ignored women’s issues for all the 50 years that I have been a libertarian activist. Only recently with the addition of Elizabeth Nolan Brown to Reason has there been anything beginning to approach substantial coverage of women’s issues in that magazine. But it’s almost nowhere else except the ALF Facebook page and several other libertarian feminist blogs. Furthermore, as Luttrell points out, it is still the case that women are only token speakers at libertarian conferences and the few of us who do speak are the only ones talking about the issues that are concerns to half of the human race. It is not for lack of women speakers either. I could rattle off a dozen names without even trying, and yes, including economists. Why can’t the conference organizers find them? This lack of representation means that many important issues are not being discussed. So why should women want to be libertarians when their concerns do not seem to be important to libertarians?

In contradistinction, Stubbart argues that the reason there are so few libertarian women is genetic: “Also, on the sociological side, we should take seriously the reasonably well‐​substantiated empirical claim of evolutionary psychology that men have evolved to bear traits that go to further extremes than women.” In other words: risk‐​taking. But history suggests that women are risk‐​takers, too. The American women pioneers who went West and the women resistance fighters in World War II are only two of many examples. More importantly, why is becoming a libertarian risky? Stubbart doesn’t really explain that. Because it is a marginal philosophy that some might disapprove of? Many women have been drawn to marginal philosophies, starting with early feminism, freethought, abolitionism, and even anarchism. In fact, I’m writing a book about them.

Stubbart seems to think that this alleged risk‐​aversion is genetic. But if she wants to argue that it is genetic, evolutionary psychology is a weak foundation to use. For starters, the claims of evolutionary psychology are not in fact “well‐​substantiated.” Those eager to embrace evolutionary psychology might want to be aware that contrary to the claims of its popularizers like Steven Pinker, it is highly controversial within academia. He would have us believe that it is now “the” accepted academic doctrine, both in general and in regard to gender. Nothing could be further from the truth. Its critics include biologist John Dupre in his book Against Maladaptationism: or What’s Wrong with Evolutionary Psychology ; neuroscientist Steven Rose, co‐​editor of Alas Poor Darwin: Arguments Against Evolutionary Psychology; British intellectual Kenan Malik (whose background is neurobiology and the history of science), and philosopher David Buller in his book Adapting Minds , just to name a few of many. In my own field of psychology, it is highly controversial and many textbooks barely treat it at all. In fact the preponderance of social science evidence and neuroscience suggests that human behavior is plastic and malleable. Whatever we have been born with (and most research suggests it is very little in regard to gender), recent research on neuroplasticity strongly suggests that the environment can change the brain in significant ways. Thus, continuing to believe in gender stereotypes of the blatant type promoted by evolutionary psychology runs contrary to modern neuroscience, let alone gender research in psychology. Evolutionary psychology has nothing to do with why there are so few libertarian women.

The problem of lack of women in the libertarian movement is real. If the activists want libertarianism to appeal to the other half of the human race, they need to pay attention to what they are doing and not doing. Instead of treating women like second‐​class citizens or idiots or being hostile to a concept many libertarians know little about, they need to learn about libertarian feminism with an open mind. They need to have articles and speakers about many issues that few libertarians except libertarian feminists care about, for example: children’s rights; current mutual aid, not merely historical; marriage; modern restrictions on contraceptives; abortion from a woman’s perspective; sexual violence; oppression of women in prison; transgender rights; oppression of women in the Middle East and Africa. Who is talking about these issues except libertarian feminists? To ignore issues that concern women will continue to let others label libertarianism as an ideology for men only. But as a woman, I don’t think this is true. I think libertarianism is for everybody.