PhilSlave
Posts: 410
Joined: 2/2/2011 Status: offline
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Feminist author Susan Maushart (What Women Want Next) writes: "Now that women have been more or less successfully mainstreamed, the achievement feels unexpectedly hollow. For one thing, we are tired. If doing what men do on top of what women have always done is Having It All, most of us have decided we'd prefer a smaller portion." Feminism has fizzled; it's crumbled under the weight of its own shaky foundations. So does this mean that women should go back to the kitchen? Is this where they belong, forever chained to the stove and the bedpost? The answer -- fundamentally -- is "no." But a very cautious "no." If women want freedom and equal rights, then they have to grow up. Equality does not mean self-entitlement, and liberation cannot be just a convenient excuse for unbridled narcissism. Men and women should be equal partners in this world, but such a lofty goal can only be achieved if women start acting like equal partners -- that is, giving instead of constantly demanding and taking. If women want equality, they should be prepared to willingly shoulder their share of the burden. In other words, they should be ponying up their half of dating expenses, dying on the front lines, enjoying career success because of merit and hard work (not gender), and not relying on men to mop up all of life's dirty work. If women want equality, then they should be honest and expect true equality. No longer should they be allowed to get away with the hypocrisy of acting like a traditional woman when a tire needs changing or the dinner check arrives, then crying feminism when it's time for a promotion at work. Women Can't Have It All... Here's what it boils down to: Women know what they want, and at the same time, have no clue what they want. They want everything both ways. But, for better or worse, they have changed the world, and if they want to profit from this change, then they need to start learning what equality really means. If a woman chooses to stay in the kitchen, that's fine. But if she wants to hold her own in a "man's world," then she should make an honest woman out of herself. As Maushart observes, "Getting everything we wanted was the first miracle. Learning how to live with it may require a second."
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