The Lie of Modern Feminism: What Early Feminists Really Believed with Erika Bachiochi

When you hear the word feminism, what comes to mind?

This episode launches a multi-part series digging into the real history of feminism: what the early feminists actually believed, how modern feminism drifted, and the bioethical fallout in the realms of sex, contraception, abortion, and women’s place in society.

In this powerful conversation, legal scholar, mother of seven, and one of the most compelling voices speaking into women’s rights Erika Bachiochi uncovers the forgotten roots of the early feminist movement. These women understood something our culture has lost: that equality is something deeper than sameness, and freedom isn’t about escaping responsibility. They believed in a moral vision rooted in human dignity, virtue, and the profound responsibilities that emerge from sex, motherhood, and family life.

Erika explains why the early feminists rejected abortion, saw motherhood as both a privilege and a gift that deserved protection, responsibility as empowerment, and insisted that both men and women be held to high moral standards, not that women imitate male detachment. She exposes the sexual asymmetry our culture denies: the vulnerability women uniquely shoulder, and men’s unique ability to walk away. And she shows how modern feminism flipped the script, freeing men from responsibility while placing the cost — physical, emotional, and ethical — squarely on women.

We dive into:

• The original feminist vision that valued both dignity and responsibility
• Why early feminists saw no moral difference between abortion and infanticide
• How the sexual revolution created false promises and real harm
• The wounds of hookup culture and the abandonment of virtue
• Why “modern equality” often leaves women more vulnerable, not less
• What true flourishing looks like today for men and women

A false feminism has shaped everything around us. This episode challenges the assumptions behind modern feminism and asks deeper questions about autonomy, embodiment, sexuality, and what women truly deserve.

If you want to understand the moral and historical reality of feminism, this conversation is essential.

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