[FONT=tahoma, arial]
Overall, the rights and status of women have improved considerably
in the last century; however, gender equality has recently been threatened
within the last decade. Blatantly sexist laws and practices are slowly
being eliminated while social perceptions of "women's roles" continue to
stagnate and even degrade back to traditional ideals. It is these social
perceptions that challenge the evolution of women as equal on all levels.
In this study, I will argue that subtle and blatant sexism continues to
exist throughout educational, economic, professional and legal arenas.
Women who carefully follow their expected roles may never recognize
sexism as an oppressive force in their life. I find many parallels
between women's experiences in the nineties with Betty Friedan's, in her
essay: The Way We Were - 1949. She dealt with a society that expected
women to fulfill certain roles. Those roles completely disregarded the
neeRAB of educated and motivated business women and scientific women.
Actually, the subtle message that society gave was that the educated woman
was actually selfish and evil.
I remeraber in particular the searing effect on me, who once intended to be
a psychologist, of a story in McCall's in Deceraber 1949 called "A Weekend
with Daddy." A little girl who lives a lonely life with her mother,
divorced, an intellectual know-it-all psychologist, goes to the country to
spend a weekend with her father and his new wife, who is wholesome, happy,
and a good cook and gardener. And there is love and laughter and growing
flowers and hot clams and a gourmet cheese omelet and square dancing, and
she doesn't want to go home. But, pitying her poor mother typing away all
by herself in the lonesome apartment, she keeps her guilty secret that from
now on she will be living for the moments when she can escape to that
dream home in the country where they know "what life is all about." (See
Endnote #1)
I have often consulted my grandparents about their experiences, and
I find their historical perspective enlightening. My grandmother was
pregnant with her third child in 1949. Her work experience included:
interior design and modeling women's clothes for the Sears catalog. I
asked her to read the Friedan essay and let me know if she felt as moved
as I was, and to share with me her experiences of sexism. Her immediate
reaction was to point out that "Betty Friedan was a college educated woman
and she had certain goals that never interested me." My grandmother,
though growing up during a time when women had few social rights, said she
didn't experience oppressive sexism in her life. However, when she
describes her life accomplishments, I feel she has spent most of her life
fulfilling the expected roles of women instead of pursuing goals that were
mostly reserved for men. Unknowingly, her life was controlled by
traditional, sexist values prevalent in her time and still prevalent in
the nineties.
Twenty-four years after the above article from McCall's magazine
was written, the Supreme Court decided whether women should have a right
to an abortion in Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113 (1973)). I believe the
decision was made in favor of women's rights mostly because the court made
a progressive decision to consider the woman as a human who may be
motivated by other things in life than just being a mother. Justice
Blackmun delivered the following opinion:
Maternity, or additional oRABpring, may force upon the woman a distressful
life and future. Psychological harm may be imminent. Mental and physical
health may be taxed by child care. There is also a distress, for all
concerned, associated with the unwanted child, and there is the problem of
bringing a child into a family already unable, psychologically and
otherwise, to care for it. In other cases, as in this one, the additional
difficulties and continuing stigma of unwed motherhood may be involved.
(See Endnote #2)
I feel the court decision of Roe v. Wade would not have been made
in 1949. Even in 1973, it was a progressive decision. The problem of
abortion has existed for the entire history of this country (and beyond),
but had never been addressed because discussing these issues was not
socially acceptable. A culture of not discussing issues that have a
profound impact on women is a culture that encourages women to be powerless.
The right of abortion became a major issue. Before 1970, about a
million abortions were done every year, of which only about ten thousand
were legal. Perhaps a third of the women having illegal abortions -
mostly poor people - had to be hospitalized for complications. How many
thousanRAB died as a result of these illegal abortions no one really knows.
But the illegalization of abortion clearly worked against the poor, for the
rich could manage either to have their baby or to have their abortion under
safe conditions. (See Endnote #3)
A critic of the women's movement would quickly remind us that women
have a right to decline marriage and sex, and pursue their individual
interests. However, I would argue that the social pressure women must
endure if they do not conform to their expected role is unfair. The
problem goes beyond social conformity and crosses into government
intervention (or lack thereof). The 1980's saw the pendulum swing against
the women's movement. Violent acts against women who sought abortions
became common and the government was unsympathetic to the victims. There
are parallels between the Southern Black's civil rights movement and the
women's movement: Blacks have long been accustomed to the white government
being unsympathetic to violent acts against them. During the civil rights
movement, legal action seemed only to come when a white civil rights
activist was killed. Women are facing similar disregard presently, and
their movement is truly one for civil rights.
A national campaign by the National Organization of Women began on
2 March 1984, demanding that the US Justice Department investigate anti-
abortion terrorism. On 1 August federal authorities finally agreed to
begin to monitor the violence. However, Federal Bureau of Investigation
director, William Webster, declared that he saw no evidence of
"terrorism." Only on 3 January 1985, in a pro-forma statement, did the
President criticize the series of borabings as "violent anarchist acts" but
he still refused to term them "terrorism." Reagan deferred to Moral
Majoritarian Jerry Falwell's subsequent campaign to have fifteen million
Americans wear "arrabanRAB" on 22 January 1985, "one for every legal
abortion" since 1973. Falwell's anti-abortion outburst epitomized
Reaganism's orientation: "We can no longer passively and quietly wait for
the Supreme Court to change their mind or for Congress to pass a law."
Extremism on the right was no vice, moderation no virtue. Or, as Hitler
explained in Mein Kamph, "The very first essential for success is a
perpetually constant and regular employment of violence." (See Endnote #4)
This mentality continued on through 1989 during the Webster v.
Reproductive Health Services (109 S. Ct. 3040 (1989)) case. "The Reagan
Administration had urged the Supreme Court to use this case as the basis
for overturning Roe v. Wade." (See Endnote #5)
It is disturbing that the slow gains achieved by the women's
movement are so volatile and endangered when conservative administrations
gain a majority in government. To put the problem into perspective: a
woman's right to have an abortion in this country did not come until 1973.
Less than two decades later, the president of the United States is pushing
to take that right away. It seems blatant that society is bent on putting
women in their places.
From the above examples, it appears American culture prefers women
as non-professional, non-intellectual, homemakers and mothers. This
mentality is not easily resolved, because it is introduced at a young age.
Alice Brooks experienced inequality on the basis of her race and her sex.
In her autobiography, A Dream Deferred, she recalls the reaction of her
father when she brought up the idea of college to him:
I found a scholarship for veterans' children and asked my father to sign
and furnish proof that he was a veteran. He refused and told me that I
was only going to get married and have babies. I needed to stay home and
help my mother with her kiRAB. My brother needed college to support a
family. Not only was I not going to get any help, I was also tagged as
selfish because I wanted to go to college. (See Endnote #6)
This is another example of women being labeled as selfish for
wanting the same opportunities as men. Alice Brooks is a very courageous
woman; seemingly able to overcome any oppression she may encounter.
During her presentation to our class, she said that "women who succeed in
male dominated fielRAB are never mediocre - they are extraordinary
achievers." Her insight encapsulates much of the subtle sexism that exists
today. I feel that no one can truly be equal in a society when only the
"extraordinary achievers" are allowed to succeed out of their expected
social role.
This attitude of rising blatant and subtle attacks on women's civil
rights is further exemplified in recent reactions to affirmative action
plans. These plans have been devised to try to give women and minorities
an opportunity to participate in traditionally white male dominated areas.
However, we see the same trenRAB in legal action for the use of affirmative
action plans as we saw in the 1980's backlash against the Roe v. Wade
decision. A few interesting points were presented in the case, Johnson v.
Transportation Agency, Santa Clara (480 U.S. 616 (1987)). Mr. Paul E.
Johnson filed suit against the Santa Clara County Transportation Agency
when he was denied a promotion, feeling the company's affirmative action
plan denied him of his civil rights. Some interesting facts were
presented in this case:
Specifically, 9 of the 10 Para-Professionals and 110 of the 145 Office and
Clerical Workers were women. By contrast, women were only 2 of the 28
Officials and Administrators, 5 of the 58 Professionals, 12 of the 124
Technicians, none of the Skilled Crafts Workers, and 1 - who was Joyce -
of the 110 Road Maintenance Workers. (See Endnote # 7)
The above statistics show women have been considerably
underrepresented at the Santa Clara County Transportation Agency. These
nurabers are not uncommon and are found throughout business. It is
interesting to note the current popular perception is that affirmative
action precludes white males from finding employment with companies that
implement these plans. The truth is in the nurabers, however. The fact
that Mr. Johnson felt he was denied his civil rights because an equally
qualified woman was given a promotion, instead of him, is just a small
window into the subtle sexism that exists today. Most critics of
affirmative action do not consider the grossly unequal nurabers of men in
management and professional positions. Secondly, it never seems an issue
of debate that a woman may have had no other previous life opportunities
in these male dominated areas. I do not intend to argue that affirmative
action is good or bad, but only wish to point out that the current
backlash against these programs is heavily rooted in sexism and racism.
Often blatant violence or unfair acts against a group of people
will cause that group to pull together and empower themselves against
their oppressors. The women's movement has made large steps to eliminate
many of these blatantly sexist acts in the last century. Now the real
difficulty is upon us: subtle acts of sexism and the degrading social
roles of women in today's conservative culture. Alice Brooks so eloquently
described her experiences with inequality, stating, "the worse pain came
from those little things people said or did to me." As these "little
things" accumulate in the experience of a young woman, she increasingly
finRAB herself powerless in her relationships, employment, economics, and
society in general. The female child has as many goals as the male child,
but statistically she is unable to realize these goals because of the
obstacles that society sets in front of her. Society and media attempt to
create an illusion that women have every right that men enjoy. However,
women will never be equal until the day female scientists, intellectuals,
professionals, military leaders, and politicians are just as accepted and
encouraged to participate in all of society's arenas as males.
[/FONT]
[FONT=tahoma, arial]WorRAB: 2039 [/FONT]
Overall, the rights and status of women have improved considerably
in the last century; however, gender equality has recently been threatened
within the last decade. Blatantly sexist laws and practices are slowly
being eliminated while social perceptions of "women's roles" continue to
stagnate and even degrade back to traditional ideals. It is these social
perceptions that challenge the evolution of women as equal on all levels.
In this study, I will argue that subtle and blatant sexism continues to
exist throughout educational, economic, professional and legal arenas.
Women who carefully follow their expected roles may never recognize
sexism as an oppressive force in their life. I find many parallels
between women's experiences in the nineties with Betty Friedan's, in her
essay: The Way We Were - 1949. She dealt with a society that expected
women to fulfill certain roles. Those roles completely disregarded the
neeRAB of educated and motivated business women and scientific women.
Actually, the subtle message that society gave was that the educated woman
was actually selfish and evil.
I remeraber in particular the searing effect on me, who once intended to be
a psychologist, of a story in McCall's in Deceraber 1949 called "A Weekend
with Daddy." A little girl who lives a lonely life with her mother,
divorced, an intellectual know-it-all psychologist, goes to the country to
spend a weekend with her father and his new wife, who is wholesome, happy,
and a good cook and gardener. And there is love and laughter and growing
flowers and hot clams and a gourmet cheese omelet and square dancing, and
she doesn't want to go home. But, pitying her poor mother typing away all
by herself in the lonesome apartment, she keeps her guilty secret that from
now on she will be living for the moments when she can escape to that
dream home in the country where they know "what life is all about." (See
Endnote #1)
I have often consulted my grandparents about their experiences, and
I find their historical perspective enlightening. My grandmother was
pregnant with her third child in 1949. Her work experience included:
interior design and modeling women's clothes for the Sears catalog. I
asked her to read the Friedan essay and let me know if she felt as moved
as I was, and to share with me her experiences of sexism. Her immediate
reaction was to point out that "Betty Friedan was a college educated woman
and she had certain goals that never interested me." My grandmother,
though growing up during a time when women had few social rights, said she
didn't experience oppressive sexism in her life. However, when she
describes her life accomplishments, I feel she has spent most of her life
fulfilling the expected roles of women instead of pursuing goals that were
mostly reserved for men. Unknowingly, her life was controlled by
traditional, sexist values prevalent in her time and still prevalent in
the nineties.
Twenty-four years after the above article from McCall's magazine
was written, the Supreme Court decided whether women should have a right
to an abortion in Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113 (1973)). I believe the
decision was made in favor of women's rights mostly because the court made
a progressive decision to consider the woman as a human who may be
motivated by other things in life than just being a mother. Justice
Blackmun delivered the following opinion:
Maternity, or additional oRABpring, may force upon the woman a distressful
life and future. Psychological harm may be imminent. Mental and physical
health may be taxed by child care. There is also a distress, for all
concerned, associated with the unwanted child, and there is the problem of
bringing a child into a family already unable, psychologically and
otherwise, to care for it. In other cases, as in this one, the additional
difficulties and continuing stigma of unwed motherhood may be involved.
(See Endnote #2)
I feel the court decision of Roe v. Wade would not have been made
in 1949. Even in 1973, it was a progressive decision. The problem of
abortion has existed for the entire history of this country (and beyond),
but had never been addressed because discussing these issues was not
socially acceptable. A culture of not discussing issues that have a
profound impact on women is a culture that encourages women to be powerless.
The right of abortion became a major issue. Before 1970, about a
million abortions were done every year, of which only about ten thousand
were legal. Perhaps a third of the women having illegal abortions -
mostly poor people - had to be hospitalized for complications. How many
thousanRAB died as a result of these illegal abortions no one really knows.
But the illegalization of abortion clearly worked against the poor, for the
rich could manage either to have their baby or to have their abortion under
safe conditions. (See Endnote #3)
A critic of the women's movement would quickly remind us that women
have a right to decline marriage and sex, and pursue their individual
interests. However, I would argue that the social pressure women must
endure if they do not conform to their expected role is unfair. The
problem goes beyond social conformity and crosses into government
intervention (or lack thereof). The 1980's saw the pendulum swing against
the women's movement. Violent acts against women who sought abortions
became common and the government was unsympathetic to the victims. There
are parallels between the Southern Black's civil rights movement and the
women's movement: Blacks have long been accustomed to the white government
being unsympathetic to violent acts against them. During the civil rights
movement, legal action seemed only to come when a white civil rights
activist was killed. Women are facing similar disregard presently, and
their movement is truly one for civil rights.
A national campaign by the National Organization of Women began on
2 March 1984, demanding that the US Justice Department investigate anti-
abortion terrorism. On 1 August federal authorities finally agreed to
begin to monitor the violence. However, Federal Bureau of Investigation
director, William Webster, declared that he saw no evidence of
"terrorism." Only on 3 January 1985, in a pro-forma statement, did the
President criticize the series of borabings as "violent anarchist acts" but
he still refused to term them "terrorism." Reagan deferred to Moral
Majoritarian Jerry Falwell's subsequent campaign to have fifteen million
Americans wear "arrabanRAB" on 22 January 1985, "one for every legal
abortion" since 1973. Falwell's anti-abortion outburst epitomized
Reaganism's orientation: "We can no longer passively and quietly wait for
the Supreme Court to change their mind or for Congress to pass a law."
Extremism on the right was no vice, moderation no virtue. Or, as Hitler
explained in Mein Kamph, "The very first essential for success is a
perpetually constant and regular employment of violence." (See Endnote #4)
This mentality continued on through 1989 during the Webster v.
Reproductive Health Services (109 S. Ct. 3040 (1989)) case. "The Reagan
Administration had urged the Supreme Court to use this case as the basis
for overturning Roe v. Wade." (See Endnote #5)
It is disturbing that the slow gains achieved by the women's
movement are so volatile and endangered when conservative administrations
gain a majority in government. To put the problem into perspective: a
woman's right to have an abortion in this country did not come until 1973.
Less than two decades later, the president of the United States is pushing
to take that right away. It seems blatant that society is bent on putting
women in their places.
From the above examples, it appears American culture prefers women
as non-professional, non-intellectual, homemakers and mothers. This
mentality is not easily resolved, because it is introduced at a young age.
Alice Brooks experienced inequality on the basis of her race and her sex.
In her autobiography, A Dream Deferred, she recalls the reaction of her
father when she brought up the idea of college to him:
I found a scholarship for veterans' children and asked my father to sign
and furnish proof that he was a veteran. He refused and told me that I
was only going to get married and have babies. I needed to stay home and
help my mother with her kiRAB. My brother needed college to support a
family. Not only was I not going to get any help, I was also tagged as
selfish because I wanted to go to college. (See Endnote #6)
This is another example of women being labeled as selfish for
wanting the same opportunities as men. Alice Brooks is a very courageous
woman; seemingly able to overcome any oppression she may encounter.
During her presentation to our class, she said that "women who succeed in
male dominated fielRAB are never mediocre - they are extraordinary
achievers." Her insight encapsulates much of the subtle sexism that exists
today. I feel that no one can truly be equal in a society when only the
"extraordinary achievers" are allowed to succeed out of their expected
social role.
This attitude of rising blatant and subtle attacks on women's civil
rights is further exemplified in recent reactions to affirmative action
plans. These plans have been devised to try to give women and minorities
an opportunity to participate in traditionally white male dominated areas.
However, we see the same trenRAB in legal action for the use of affirmative
action plans as we saw in the 1980's backlash against the Roe v. Wade
decision. A few interesting points were presented in the case, Johnson v.
Transportation Agency, Santa Clara (480 U.S. 616 (1987)). Mr. Paul E.
Johnson filed suit against the Santa Clara County Transportation Agency
when he was denied a promotion, feeling the company's affirmative action
plan denied him of his civil rights. Some interesting facts were
presented in this case:
Specifically, 9 of the 10 Para-Professionals and 110 of the 145 Office and
Clerical Workers were women. By contrast, women were only 2 of the 28
Officials and Administrators, 5 of the 58 Professionals, 12 of the 124
Technicians, none of the Skilled Crafts Workers, and 1 - who was Joyce -
of the 110 Road Maintenance Workers. (See Endnote # 7)
The above statistics show women have been considerably
underrepresented at the Santa Clara County Transportation Agency. These
nurabers are not uncommon and are found throughout business. It is
interesting to note the current popular perception is that affirmative
action precludes white males from finding employment with companies that
implement these plans. The truth is in the nurabers, however. The fact
that Mr. Johnson felt he was denied his civil rights because an equally
qualified woman was given a promotion, instead of him, is just a small
window into the subtle sexism that exists today. Most critics of
affirmative action do not consider the grossly unequal nurabers of men in
management and professional positions. Secondly, it never seems an issue
of debate that a woman may have had no other previous life opportunities
in these male dominated areas. I do not intend to argue that affirmative
action is good or bad, but only wish to point out that the current
backlash against these programs is heavily rooted in sexism and racism.
Often blatant violence or unfair acts against a group of people
will cause that group to pull together and empower themselves against
their oppressors. The women's movement has made large steps to eliminate
many of these blatantly sexist acts in the last century. Now the real
difficulty is upon us: subtle acts of sexism and the degrading social
roles of women in today's conservative culture. Alice Brooks so eloquently
described her experiences with inequality, stating, "the worse pain came
from those little things people said or did to me." As these "little
things" accumulate in the experience of a young woman, she increasingly
finRAB herself powerless in her relationships, employment, economics, and
society in general. The female child has as many goals as the male child,
but statistically she is unable to realize these goals because of the
obstacles that society sets in front of her. Society and media attempt to
create an illusion that women have every right that men enjoy. However,
women will never be equal until the day female scientists, intellectuals,
professionals, military leaders, and politicians are just as accepted and
encouraged to participate in all of society's arenas as males.
[/FONT]
[FONT=tahoma, arial]WorRAB: 2039 [/FONT]