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LadyHibiscus -> I am a feminist. (2/3/2008 2:47:56 PM)
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I am a feminist. Until recently, I thought that most other women were as well, but many women here declare proudly that they are NOT. After my head stopped exploding, I decided that I might as well ask... are you a feminist? And if not, WHAT are you?
First, let's start with some background and definitions. I was born in the early 60's. My mother always worked, but she was one of the rare ones. Most moms stayed home, most dads went to work. They never did housework, though lawnmowing was designated an acceptable guy task. At school, my teachers said, Oh, Francine, you're so smart, you should become a teacher when you grow up! Not a scientist, eh?
Sounds like ancient history, doesn't it? But that's how it was, up until very recently. Women were presented with the teacher-nurse-secretary paradigm if they wanted to go to college, and the waitress-cashier one if they didn't. Yes, they could buck the system. It was those women who DID go against the tide, who said that they could take any job that they were qualified for, that they COULD graduate from medical school, instead of nursing school, from law school, instead of being legal secretaries, from whatever they pleased, and do a job that did not involve caretaking.
I'm not going to launch into a diatribe on women's studies here. If you would like to google topics like women's suffrage, and see just how recently women got to VOTE in elections, please do. Property rights are another fun topic to explore. Oh, and Equal Rights Amendment! There's a special bit of history. Instead, I am going to recommend that you find some old television shows---Mary Tyler Moore is a good one. A single career gal with "spunk". She was one of those who was swimming against the tide, putting up with the crap, and getting it done. Mary was a feminist, the kind of feminist that was my role model, back in the day.
What does it mean to be a feminist? It means that women are entitled to equal pay for equal work. It means that women should have the same educational opportunities as men. It means that a person's genitalia should not dictate her--or his--entire future. It means that women should not have to tolerate sexual harassment, and NOT because it might cause a lawsuit. It means that women are deserving of the same respect as men. It means that a woman should be able to choose her life path based on her personal goals---and that her choice is a valid one whether she chooses to work outside her house, *or* to stay home and raise her family.
Why is this such a big deal to me? Whenever I hear a young girl--by which I mean someone in her 20's, that could be my daughter--say that she is not a feminist, I feel betrayed. What on earth are these women thinking? That we have acheived parity, and now all gender bias is gone? That the glass ceilings have melted away? That they genuinely think that the good old boy network is going to let them in without a bulldozer?
I don't have enough words to describe how appalled I am at that shortsighted worldview. I hear comments from young people of color, who don't remember a city who had race riots---they wouldn't accept that kind of disrespect they hear about, they say.
Those who would forget history are comdemned to repeat it?
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