As a middle-aged American woman, I look at these women marching in Day Without a Woman and wonder, exactly, what has happened in their lives to cause them to see things so negatively. Do they even know what they are protesting? What are they fighting for? Do they have any real clue what they actually want, not just from protests and politics, but from life. Do they have any understanding at all about the history of women. Do they understand what it is to be a woman?
Women in America have the exact same rights and responsibilities as American men. I would argue that, in some areas, American woman have more choices and opportunities than men.
How dare I say that? Females in this country go to the same schools, have access to the same education and jobs as men. Females can choose to enter the American military, just as a man can. In our current society Affirmative Action means that oftentimes women applicants for top colleges and jobs are often preferred over men– even in the cases where the male candidate is better qualified. Women receive special incentives to enter fields like Science and Math where it’s perceived there is a gender gap. Women can choose to get married or stay single without too much societal backlash. A 40-year-old single woman is seen as strong and independent while a 40-year-old single man is viewed as flawed.
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Once a woman gets married or has children the differences in choices and opportunities grow. Women are free to choose between having a career, or staying home and caring for house and family. Many women choose to do both and enjoy the respect, and assistance of both family and co-workers.
That is a choice that men in American society do not typically enjoy. A man who chooses to leave the workforce to be a full-time dad is looked upon as lazy, incapable, and accused of living off his wife. Men have a much more difficult time reentering the workforce after taking time off to care for children than do women. And, the people who seem to give these guys the most grief seem to be women. Men who take a vacation and sick days to care for ill children have might have their jobs threatened. When a woman takes a sick day to care for her child, people might complain behind her back, but her job is secure. When I was pregnant with our youngest child, my husband’s female supervisor treated him horribly. She had a problem with him using his paid time off to attend the ultrasound. As my due date approached and I struggled with pre-eclampsia. This same supervisor objected to my husband attending my weekly doctor’s appointments. When I was sent to the emergency room to be induced 3 weeks before my due date, she had a fit that he dared take time off to attend the birth of our baby. A woman would not have been hassled about taking earned time off to attend to the birth of her child.
It’s true that women do still face some challenges. No one would try to tell a man which medical procedures he can or can not have. And of course, there really are sexist jerks out there who still believe women are somehow less capable and deserving of respect than men. But, in reality, those men are the minority. It’s been my experience that most men treat women as the individuals they are.
And, I’d make the case that it’s the responsibility of the women in their lives to teach those minority men where they are wrong. Each woman has the ability to choose the types of people, men, and women, she associates with. Personally, I choose not to associate with the disrespectful, sexist men. Instead, I focus on teaching all the children in my life, including my sons, nephews, and other boys to treat each person, regardless of their sex, as the unique person they are. As the gender who typically raises and teaches the children, women have a responsibility to create an environment where all people are judged on their own merits.
Each person is different. Every person has strengths and weakness. Some come from experience, others from education and still others from genetic differences inherent in the different sexes and races. Thanks to evolution and survival instincts, men and women excel in different areas. Modern feminists might not like it, but you can’t fight biology.
Are women important in our society? Of course they are. Women bring forth the next generation. Traditionally, it’s the females who raise the children.
It’s true that in past generations women were treated as property. There was a point where women could not own property, could not vote, and had no say in how their communities or even their homes were run.
But, it’s not like that anymore.
For the past several generations our great-grandmothers, grandmothers, and mothers fought to be treated equally with men. To have the same legal and societal rights and responsibilities as men. They won the right own property, to work, to take advantage of the same educational and employment opportunities as men. Women run homes, businesses, schools, and countries. Women hold top positions in governments and plan the education of the nation’s public school children.
There is nothing that limits a woman in her career pursuits except her own ability and dedication.
Equality has been achieved. There is nothing to fight over.
These women, “feminists” they call themselves seem to have missed the memo. They are so busy screaming for “equal rights” that they fail to recognize that we already have equal rights. What they are fighting for is not “equal.” They are asking for special treatment, special consideration, and special rules because they are a woman.
There was a time I considered myself a feminist. Not because I believed that women should be treated differently. But, because I believe that all people, regardless of sex, race or religion should be treated on their own individual merits and strengths. I was taught that “feminism” was a belief that women should have the same opportunities as men.
But these “feminists” seem to believe they deserve special treatment because they are women. Which is no different than the repression our grandmothers fought against.
