We took off the aprons and burned a few bras and declared women free and independent...now, decades later, has anything really changed? If we underwent the sexual revolution why is it that being an unwed mother is still worthy of a virtual stoning? If a woman enjoys sex and talks about it openly, she's a slut. If she is aggressive after her goals and beliefs then she is branded as a bitch. And if we commit the unforgivable sin of complaining about the way women are treated, then we are “man hating lesbians”. And for those souls who do choose the more traditional role of wife and mother, their voices have been all but silenced by the world obsessed with titles and profit. Between the feminist left and chauvinist right women's voices are being all but drowned out.
We live in a society where pornography is more available and sex is no longer a taboo topic for the media, but is that not really just another way of silencing the female voice? By objectifying women, sex, and all things domestic we are still nullifying the legitimacy of the feminine voice. And when do we speak up and demand to be heard, we are of course being the typical nag and if we complain about the way women are portrayed in the media, etc. it must be "that time of month again". And this seems to be simply the way it is, no one questions the status quo where women's issues are concerned. And, unfortunately, it is appearing to be the same in all aspects of life. Have you ever noticed that most of women's health issues are being addressed by men? Or that the majority of relationship and family counseling advice is again, coming from men? And how many policies in the work place actually ever take into consideration women's needs? Sure we technically have rules in place about things like sexual harassment, but as we all know, they too often are not enforced or are completely inadequate. Most company and workplace policies are written to be male-centric and do a poor job of addressing the needs of women.
Even among the female populace, if you attempt to address these issues you are the enemy and are somehow making the female sex look bad or weaker or inferior. Sure we seem to be able to talk about sex more openly today but to be honest that is only in some non-nonchalant, male centered way. What about open discussions about real issues that no one ever mentions. For example, if you were to suggest that work place policies should be structured to accommodate women who need time off from work to deal with PMS or morning sickness people on both sides of the fence would crucify you. But let's face it, men and women ARE different. This is a fact of life. Ignoring or denying those differences will never accomplish anything other than compounding the issue further. We need to be embracing those differences and trying to foster understanding and acceptance and celebrating the differences between us all, not trying to make everything and everyone conform into one tiny little masculine box. When men pay child support, we praise them for taking responsibility for their children. But when single mothers struggle to raise their children alone, they are constantly looked down upon for their "mistake". A family centered woman in her mid-late 30's will be asked "when are you going to do something with your life" because all she has ever done was to marry and have children even if she is educated and talented, she is not “productive”. Why is success and acceptable behavior still being measured by an archaic, patriarchal point of view?
Now I am not minimizing the role of men in society. Nor, am I saying they have nothing to contribute. I am merely pointing out the fact that somehow we have come through the sexual revolution and for all of the casualties of that war all we really seem to have is more porn...once women were not allowed to speak...now when we speak it is a joke and to be honest I find the later more demeaning and offensive than the former. Somehow I think stripping the dignity and power of the feminine voice away from women is NOT what the early founders of the feminist movement had in mind. We are half of this world, and as such we deserve a strong and vibrant voice. Not a voice that says you have to be like a man to be equal to a man. But proud, beautiful voices that say it is ok to be exactly who and what we are- the mothers and the lovers, the friends and the comforters, the sages and the organizers- women...nothing more and nothing less.
