Feminism: Political, economic, and social equality of women and men
I am a feminist. I believe in the political, economic and social equality of men and women. Men are feminists, too. There are many women who believe they are not feminists. Many of these women are TV personalities, writers, or average women who believe there is something wrong with being a feminist. These women are harboring the false idea that feminism as anti-family or anti-men. Anytime a woman is able to get an education, own property, own a business, get a job and make her own decisions, she is acting as a feminist. Many women have lost the understanding of where we came from and how far we need to go in order to achieve and maintain equality.
The history of women’s rights in America, in some ways, has been lost to younger women. Women were slaves; I am not exaggerating. Women were the property of their fathers, then their husbands. They could not divorce but they could be divorced and they would lose custody of their children. Women could work but their husbands got the money. Women could not vote or own property. Women could not attend institutions of higher education. No one under the age of 50 remembers a time when women did not have the right to vote, go to college, work, own property, legally use birth control, or legally obtain an abortion. Very few people alive remember a time when women could not vote. All the people that want to go back to a time before women had full control over their lives want to go back to something they do not know or fully understand the implications of their ideology. We are all, men and women, much better off now than we were then.
In the early 19th century there were ideas about women called True Women. This Cult of True womanhood consisted of four cardinal virtues:
- Piety – Religion was valued because unlike intellectual pursuits it did not take a woman away from her "proper sphere," the home, and because it controlled women's longings
- Purity – Virginity was seen as a woman's greatest treasure which she had to preserve until her marriage night
- Submission – True Women were required to be as submissive and obedient "as little children" because men were regarded as women's superiors "by God's appointment"
- Domesticity – A woman's proper sphere was the home where a wife created a refuge for her husband and children; Needlework, cooking, making beds, and tending flowers were considered proper feminine activities whereas reading of anything other than religious biographies was discouraged
To read more about the nonsense ideas about women and men from the 19th century that still infect the modern world, click here: http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/386/truewoman.html
In my opinion these so called “virtues” are ridiculous and women were right to rebel against them. We still need to fight against this narrow view of womanhood because there is a substantial movement to take away women’s rights. None of the rights that women attained have come because of the largess of men. Women worked hard for their rights and we still need to work hard to keep them. There is nothing in the constitution that codifies women’s rights. Women are not children that need to be guided by men. Women and men should be partners in making the future.
I have assembled a collection of documentaries that women and men need to watch to understand where we have been and what is at stake if we all do not fight to preserve women’s rights.
The first documentary in two parts, “Not for Ourselves Alone” tells the story of women attaining the right to vote, also the right to divorce, earn money and keep it for themselves, and to own their own property. It is a fascinating story that show the strength, determination and intelligence of women who worked tirelessly for the cause of equality. Elisabeth Kady Stanton is one of my personal heroes.
More information on this video: http://www.pbs.org/stantonanthony/
The next documentary “Fly Girls” is about women pilots in WWII. “Fly Girls" tells the story of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Led by America's most accomplished aviator Jacqueline Cochran, these courageous women logged more than sixty million miles, ferrying planes throughout the United States, test-piloting experimental aircraft, and training men to fly. Still, the WASP fought a daily, sometimes deadly, battle for respect. Thousands of women learned to pilot airplanes and flew them during the war. This is a part of WWII history that is not mentioned often but demonstrates clearly that women are capable of doing an equally professional job as men. These women performed a vital service to the war effort and moved women’s equality along.
More information on this video: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/flygirls/index.html
The documentary “The Pill” is the story of how Margaret Sanger and Katharine Dexter McCormick were instrumental in the development of the birth control pill. It also features personal accounts from the first generation of women to have access to the Pill.
More information on this video: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/index.html
The next film, “When Abortion Was Illegal: Untold Stories” are personal accounts of women who for various reason need abortions before it was re-legalized. Abortion, birth control and pornography were legal in the United States until 1873. Many conservatives would like people to believe that abortion, birth control and pornography are products for a degenerate and godless modern society but that is not the truth. Women and men have just had to claw back their rights to get society back to where it was 100 years before. This film was extremely touching to me and I am glad I never had to endure the things the women in this film had to endure. I do not want to go back to those times. Women still had abortions when they were illegal, it was however, dangerous and in many cases deadly.
The fifth film, “The FRAGILE PROMISE of CHOICE: Abortion in the U.S. Today” is about how abortion rights are being systematically taken away and the repercussions of having women’s rights taken away. Through vignettes from cities and rural areas around the country, this documentary examines how restrictive legislation, in an atmosphere of harassment and violence, affects the lives of abortion providers and the women who seek their services. The film features interviews with community doctors, women seeking services, clinic directors, clergy, and counselors. Their stories illustrate the increasing number of situations in which legal does not necessarily mean accessible.
The last film I’m recommending is “The Virgin Daughters”. Most of the people in this film are mentally ill and all the men have extreme control issues. The film explores the purity movement in America, where one girl in every six pledges to remain a virgin, or to save her first kiss, until her wedding day. There is only one woman who manages to free herself from this madness and develop her potential. The men in this documentary are obsessively concerned with their daughter’s sex lives under the guise of making their daughter’s lives better and saving them heartache. This film is also a good example of the cult of true womanhood in practice.
We have come a long way but have yet to achieve equality and I fear the anti-abortion and anti-birth control movements is just the beginning of a U-turn in the wrong direction. Having control over your own body is an essential to equality. The decision to have or not have children is a personal decision that each woman should be free to make without interference from the state or religious institutions. It is only a part of having control of your life. Women should view themselves as individuals empowered to control their lives in any way they desire. For some women that might mean being a housewife or others that might mean being an astrophysicist but either path is a choice that is should not be dictated by men. Women are more than half the population and it is imperative that we are full participants in the direction and development of society.
Peace, Love and Enlightenment,
Fobbsie
