Have you ever wondered whatever happened to a gender perspective once known as "feminism"? Is it still kicking around out there, or has it gone into hiding? A few decades ago, this loudly-heralded movement was going to liberate women from the prison and poison of their domestic roles and their gender limitations. They would be free from the shackles of femininity, ready to soar above the mundane and stake their claim to unlimited possibilities. Oh, and "womanhood" would be re-defined.
Remember those glorious prophecies, belted out by the prophets of old (sorry, prophetesses of old), among them, (Ms.) Steinem and (Ms.) Greer?
I think we all need to pause, take a breath, and see where this much ballyhooed movement is today. Or at least take a pointed look at something that had all the potential of re-vamping our culture.
A good place to start is through questions. And today, boys and girls and other types of humans, I will ask the questions, but you may provide the answers. I fully expect to raise a few eyebrows over what appears another male chauvinist pig's rant—but I am neither a wiener nor a whiner, at least on a topic as dicey as feminism. I think, as usual, it's a matter of passing along a few observations about something I find intriguing.
Here are some of the questions:
1. Are women any better off decades after the movement began? And I don't mean healthier and wealthier, either. Those are by-products of an upwardly-mobile economy, regardless of gender battles. Beyond the advances in voting privileges and personhood, initiated decades before the current movement started, we're talking about the overall quality of life and lifestyle.
One of the buzz expressions of this movement has been "equality with men." I think that it means something like equal pay for equal work, equal rights, and equal opportunity. Shocker of all shockers, I agree with that sentiment.
However, carried to its logical conclusion, there would be no "women and children first" thinking, on the part of the gentlemen of the world. I personally would not feel inclined to offer my seat to a woman, nor open the door for her. I don't feel the same compulsion to do that for a man, so if we're all equal, then they can get their own seat, open their own door. I may do that as an act of courtesy for any man or woman, but not because they are a man or a woman.
2. Are women any safer these days? That means, Maurice, that sexual attacks and peep shows are down considerably than they were, say, thirty years ago. Has the movement made the whole sex trade debacle non-existent, or at least minimalized it? I am speaking in particular of the pornographic industry. You do know who the "slaves" are in those factories, don't you? Women, of course, and young women, in particular. Has feminism improved their lot?
3. Are women any happier these days than, say, their mothers' generation? That, of course, is a very tough question to answer, partly because happiness is so subjective, partly because the culture of today's woman and yesterday's woman is so different. It's like comparing fish with bikes.
It's foolish to demand equality in any arena simply on the basis of gender. I would say simply that the best-qualified person, male or female, should get the job. I repeat, a person shouldn't get a position anywhere because of gender. They get the job because they are the best person suited for it. And that include soldiers, firefighters, politicians, principals, et al.
She shouldn't get it—ever, never, no how—simply because she is a woman. That would be sexual discrimination in reverse. And that the last thing we need.
That would be, uh, a Ms-taken notion indeed.
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