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Gloria Steinem, a prominent feminist and political figure, turned 80 years old today. Steinem gained notoriety in the 1960s and 1970s as a leader of the women's liberation movement and is still an active lecturer, writer, and organizer for various women's issues.
In honor of Steinem's birthday, several major news sources compiled photos and articles she has written throughout her time as an activist. This column from CNN caught my attention in particular. It uses her birthday to bring up an increasingly current topic: feminism in 2014. With celebrities like Beyoncé and Sheryl Sandberg proclaiming themselves to be feminists, a lot of Americans are reconsidering what it means in today's society and how that definition varies from person to person.
To tie this back to government and our knowledge on civil rights, it's also interesting to examine the changes that have occurred since Steinem began her efforts in the 1960s. Obviously, a critical development in women's rights would be the Equal Rights Amendment, which was introduced in the 1970s and is still seeking to be ratified by the states. We've also observed new interpretations of the Equal Protection Clause and the implementation of Title IX.
How do you define feminism? Is there a negative stigma attached to being a "feminist"? Do you support increased legislation guaranteeing equality for men and women? What are some pros and cons to enacting legislation that would guarantee equality? Is it necessary?
4 comments:
I think the meaning of feminism has transformed into something different for every individual and that reflects the social and political changes we have seen from the birth of the feminist movement up to today, but the term is grounded in the belief that all people should be treated equally. And I would say there is a negative stigma attached to being a "feminist" - you don't have to look that far to see all the stuff people say about feminism. I mean, see the Rush Limbaugh quote in the article.
I don't know if increased legislation is the ultimate solution, but I believe it's more of a symbolic gesture that shows the people and the government are actively invested in changing the status quo. We tout ourselves as being a country of equality but the gender gap is seen everywhere from representation in film to wage differences. Perhaps we are far more progressive than many other countries but this shouldn't be reduced to a comparative thing. For me at least, feminism is important and should be talked about.
I like how you phrased all of that, Susan. The Rush Limbaugh comments definitely embody one definition of feminism. However he chooses to define feminism, I found his criticism of the Georgetown student who stood up for her rights to contraception to be extremely disrespectful and misogynistic. Regardless of feminism, anything that disrespectful is uncalled for, in my opinion. I also agree with your thoughts on legislation. I would be disappointed to see a society emerge that was trying so hard to reach a state of gender equality that it became unnatural or artificial.
Feminism, like many other labels such as liberal, conservative, optimist and pessimist, has became comparatively meaningless in everyday conversation. Too many people have widely diverging definitions that contradict or miss the scope altogether, regardless of its true definition.
But there's no dispute that causes like gender equality and social issues championed by feminists are and have been gaining traction and achieving change. People like Rush Limbaugh, while unfortunate and disgusting, are decreasing in number as new generations mature. Social differences like appearances and etiquette should be changed through social pressure and not legislation, but harder differences like wages, health care, etc. could stand to see benefit from legislative support. We're part way there, and there's no reason to not continue calling for change.
I agree with what everyone in the above has been saying; feminism has lost its meaning in today's colloquial use of it. To quote activist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (who has recently gained fame in popular culture for being sampled in a Beyoncé song), a feminist is "a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes." I believe that more people stand by these principles of feminism than they themselves believe, due to the connotation of craziness that is associated with the word.
An interesting piece I read a while back suggests that what women need in legislature isn't equality, but rather equity. Roughly defined by me, equality is when everyone receives the same thing, but equity is when everyone receives the same quality of...thing. For example, if you give a bunch of nearsighted people the same prescription of glasses, there would be equality, but not equity, since some people need different prescriptions for their own individual needs. It's an interesting concept, because a lot of legislation that is supporting equality of the sexes still fails to be fair because it treats women as men, which they are not.
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