10-28-05
In the early days of the US women's rights movement, when Sarah Grimke and her sister, or Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony led their fights for women's rights, women were almost universally treated as second class citizens. Throughout the country they couldn't vote, in many states they couldn't even legally retain ownership of their own homes upon the death of a husband. It was by and large uncommon for women to attain a higher education and in the days before the Civil War it was even assumed that women were physically unsuited to work outside the home much less start a business. There was little recourse for women who were beaten by violent husbands, women then having little legal recourse in nearly any matter.
Now that was oppression. Those were the days when women were mistreated by societal norms, when women were not offered the opportunities of the American concepts of "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", and when the women's movement really meant something urgent.
Even in the days of the 1960s and 70s, when women like Gloria Steinem and Germaine Greer began their own crusades women were not able to enjoy the same status as citizen as did men in the US. Even as anti-American as their real aims were what with the socialist/communist ideals that so often underlay their principles, the ladies still had real problems to address.
But, now, we can safely say the battle is won. "Feminism", as a movement, is now unnecessary. In fact it has become silly at best and dangerous at worst.
First comes the silly.
At Amherst Regional High School in New Hampshire they have decided to stop calling freshmen students by that long standing and venerable name. They have decided to call their students "Ninth Graders" instead of freshmen.
I'd bet you've already sensed why this decision has been made, haven't you? That's right, Amherst High has decided to stop using the word freshmen because that appellation has the word "men" in it. How gauche to have a word that might be misconstrued as having a possible male connotation despite the fact that no one even considers the word to be gender specific.
Staff writer, Rachel Hanley, of the Daily Hampshire Gazette said that the school wanted to "move away from 'freshman'" as a "result of conversations among faculty that began after the controversial production of The Vagina Monologues two years ago."
So, it's perfectly fine to talk about "vaginas" in high school using a word that seems suspiciously gender specific, but not the word "freshmen"? Curious that.
Assistant Principal Marta Guevara is reported to have said, "We want conversation, we want for kids to bring forward their thinking". She went on to say, "It's a great conversation to make them aware of the possible misogynistic, oppressive or non-inclusive language."
No, Ms. Guevara, the word freshmen has no such "misogynistic, oppressive or non-inclusive" meaning unless you decide that there is such contained within and unless you advocate there to be such. And if you are, indeed, advocating such you are re-creating the meaning of the word to suit your own purpose instead of simply using the word as it is defined. Instead of teaching Mizz Guevera seems to be involved in some sort of social engineering project. Is that the role of a high school teacher? I'd suggest not.
But, ultimately, this little campaign of the estimable Mizz Guevara just makes her and her cause look silly. People look at this story and instead of a righteous shake of the head in solidarity they are more likely to utter a guffaw and roll their eyes skyward. This is feminism made comic, women's rights made to look insipid. This is a bad Saturday Night Live sketch not a serious feminist cause that screams out to be corrected.
Susan B. Anthony must be spinning on her quarter sized, one dollar coin!
Now for the dangerous.
Women now make up over 56% of Americans in college. Yet a new full page newspaper ad , featuring a photo of Senator Hilary Clinton, produced by the organization "Women's College Coalition" says that there is some sort of crisis in America's institutions of higher education because women there are so discriminated against. Yet, to look at the statistics, one would wonder how that could be with women already represented at more than half the total number of students nationally. Additionally, there are 52 women only colleges and Universities today in the US yet only 2 male only institutions. Some how the words "crisis" and "discrimination" don't seem to fit the situation very well ... unless it is from the man's point of view.
And the numbers of women in college seem to be rising still meaning that fewer men are choosing to or are able to go to college. And how can that be a good thing? If it was bad to have only men educated in pre PC times, how can it be just fine to have fewer men so educated in post PC times? We have arrived at a balance, with a small tip in favor of the women. Isn't the battle won? What IS the crisis?
Yet, these radical feminist organizations are still pushing this "oppression" angle as if it were still 1850! This continued agitation in a day when there is no real oppression risks several things, and none of them good.
We risk making young women angry at nothing, for one. And, with that anger, we risk making those same women seem unhinged or out of touch with reality as they angrily stomp about campuses across the country protesting against something few perceive as a problem at all. And by arguing against something that cannot even be proven statistically, logically or in any other way, these poor young women risk alienating themselves from the very society they claim they are fighting to join.
We'll end up marginalizing otherwise intelligent young women and this cannot help but perpetuate the problems their self-interested "leaders" are claiming exists. Of course, these "leaders" have a vested interest in continuing the "crisis" to perpetuate their own "importance", it should be remembered, but that is yet another reason to distrust these feminist obsessed "professors" and organizations.
Lastly, this rehashing of feminism past as if it is relevant to today focuses these college women on "the cause" and away from studies in college that might actually lead to them being able to better their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Not to mention it prevents them from taking their place as learned leaders of the country.
We have already dummed down our college course with too much social "sciences", and inapplicable and pseudo fields such as Gay studies, Women's studies or Minority studies. Why not add Popsicle stick art and finger painting as college level courses, the same relevance and seriousness would apply?
No, feminism has become as much a thing of the past as rotary phones or buggy whips. It's time to move on, girls. Join the men as leaders of the nation, not as spoiled, half-educated whiners, would ya?
By Warner Todd Huston
Mr. Huston is featured on many websites such as townhall.com, therant.us, opinioneditorials.com and americandaily.com among many others. He also appears in the new book "Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture" which can be purchased on amazon.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL WTH
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