I've printed this before and thought today's historic moment would be a good time for a repeat. Things sure have changed in my short 44 years on the planet. But, sadly, not nearly enough.
If you're female and...
...you can vote, thank a feminist.
...you get paid as much as men doing the same job, thank a feminist.
...you went to college instead of being expected to quit after high school so your brothers could go because "You'll just get married anyway", thank a feminist.
...you can apply for any job, not just "women's work", thank a feminist.
...you can get or give birth control information without going to jail, thank a feminist.
...your doctor, lawyer, pastor judge or legislator is a woman, thank a feminist.
...you play an organized sport, thank a feminist.
...you can wear slacks without being excommunicated from your church or run out of town, thank a feminist.
...your boss isn't allowed to pressure you to sleep with him, thank a feminist.
...you get raped and the trial isn't about your hemline or your previous boyfriends, thank a feminist.
...you start a small business and can get a loan using only your name and credit history, thank a feminist
...you are on trial and are allowed to testify in your own defense, thank a feminist.
...you own property that is solely yours, thank a feminist.
...you have the right to your own salary even if you are married or have a male relative, thank a feminist.
...you get custody of your children following divorce or separation, thank a feminist.
...you get a voice in the raising and care of your children instead of them being completely controlled by the husband/father, thank a feminist.
...your husband beats you and it is illegal and the police stop him instead of lecturing you on better wifely behavior, thank a feminist.
...you are granted a degree after attending college instead of a certificate of completion, thank a feminist.
...you can breastfeed your baby discreetly in a public place and not be arrested, thank a feminist.
...you marry and your civil human rights do not disappear into your husband's rights, thank a feminist.
...you have the right to refuse sex with a diseased husband [or just "husband"], thank a feminist.
...you have the right to keep your medical records confidential from the men in your family, thank a feminist.
...you have the right to read the books you want, thank a feminist.
...you can testify in court about crimes or wrongs your husband has committed, thank a feminist.
...you can choose to be a mother or not a mother in you own time not at the dictates of a husband or rapist, thank a feminist.
...you can look forward to a lifespan of 80 years instead of dying in your 20s from unlimited childbirth, thank a feminist.
...you can see yourself as a full, adult human being instead of a minor who needs to be controlled by a man, thank a feminist.
--Author unknown
It's depressing to think that there was a stronger feminist ethic in my college days of 1971-75 than there is today. The victory is not won. There is still work to be done.
Posted by: MikeC | 05 January 2007 at 00:59
Amen. I grew up in the 60's and 70's - when feminism was in its infancy. I cannot tell you how many times I was told I couldn’t do something because I was a girl. One still chafes today. I wanted to enter the soapbox derby when I was 10 years old. Girls weren't allowed. And I didn't have the kind of parent that stood up for me. I'll tell you what, though - this prompted me to fight like the dickens for what I wanted when I was in my teens. In High School I wanted every chance to get into a good college. I attended Catholic school - girls only. The nearby boy’s Catholic school offered up college prep courses. I asked to attend and was refused. Bad move on their part. I created the biggest stink you've ever heard - threatened to go to the newspapers and claim discrimination if I wasn’t allowed in. Dispensation was granted; and I paved the way for other girls to follow me. I understand college prep courses were added to my alma mater within 5 years as a result. I did that - and I'm proud of it.
Same kind of thing happened when I was in college. The high paying summer job on campus was working with the painting crew. The entire school was being re-painted inside and out; hard work, but I needed the money – I was paying my own way through, and the tuition was a killer. Students hired as painters got $10 bucks and hour; a veritable fortune back in 1975. I raised a huge stink - and the boys stood up for me. I was the first woman ever hired on that crew. All this because the soap box derby people were sexist assholes. It was the 1970’s before they allowed girls to compete, as I recall. You know – that disappointment still lingers. When I was a kid – there was a part of me that wanted to design cars and airplanes; or build buildings and bridges. I had an innate knack for engineering – a talent I put to good use in my chosen profession of the theatre. I could think three-dimensionally; quite a boon when working in what was then a mostly two dimensional art form. Still – I sometimes wonder what might have happened if I’d been allowed to participate in that race.
Posted by: The Fat Lady Sings | 05 January 2007 at 12:00
TFLS, you rock. I'm sorry you weren't allowed to participate in that race, but you obviously made serious feminist hay out of it, and thanks for paving the way.
I grew up in the late 70s/80s and the first team I played on was a boys' baseball team, because there was not a team for the girls. Then, in 4th grade, there was a softball team, and it was a huge success, of course. The next year there was a basketball team, and so on, and that little redneck town never looked back. The softball team I was on in 6th grade went to nationals (just two years after getting off the ground)!
Though I'm highly displeased that "impeachment is off the table," I'm standing in solidarity w/ Nancy P. today and identifying a little bit w/ her, too, because I was the first female president of my school when I was in 6th grade. ;->
And MikeC, I hear you. I work at my undergrad alma mater, and it was a helluva lot better in out and loud feminist terms a decade+ ago than it is now. It's still there, but it's more underground and not near as visible. The Anti-Life people are frickin' everywhere it seems.
Posted by: ae | 05 January 2007 at 15:16
You're welcome. I'm from the Class of 62.
;-)
Posted by: dancinfool | 08 January 2007 at 15:46