March 25, 2011
“I am Woman”
I am not what one would typically call a “feminist.” I don’t post pro-female mantras on my facebook page and I don’t go out of my way to promote woman’s rights or equality in the work place. In fact there are a lot of times where I think some women are not where they think they should be due to nothing less than the fact they there are unwilling to roll their sleeves up and get dirty with their male counterparts. In a society where many women still expect a man to open a door for them, they sometimes can’t understand when a man doesn’t open a boardroom door for them as well.
However, whatever I think about women in the modern workplace seems silly and frivolous when you read about what is happening to women the world over. Whether is the harrowing ‘fact’ that there are more women in Congo that have been raped than can read or women being stoned to death in front of a crowd in Iran or Egyptian protestors being beaten and then given virginity tests before being labeled a prostitute, it’s enough to turn one feminist.
Western women really don’t need anyone fighting in their corner. They escaped the kitchens long ago and are given more than enough opportunity to be as successful as they choose. But who is out there fighting for the others? The ones behind veils, the ones trapped in a mud hut, the ones trapped in a gilded palace paid for with oil money, the ones with no way out.
I don’t have that answer. I am sure there are woman’s groups doing what they can, but what I can’t fully grasp is why most of us don’t really seem to care. Without women there is no human race. Yes of course men are needed and believe me, I am not even close to a man hater. But with all the advancements in science and fertility, women can continue on populating the world without a man. Now they just need a talented doctor and a small donation from a man.
I am not writing this because I want the women who read this to get all up in arms and join some group to save women. I am writing it because I want people to realize how freakin’ lucky we are. We have access to everything, information, support, grants, education, etc. A woman in the Middle East would literally kill to have the freedoms we have and I just think sometimes we all need to look around and appreciate. That’s all. Just recognize that we have something very few people will ever have in their lifetime and hopefully we are using it to our advantage.
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I agree with a lot of the points you've made, but I would like to add that we don't need to look as far as the Middle East to find disadvantaged women who are subjected to discrimination. The US is home to millions of women, many of them single mothers, who struggle to make a life for themselves on minimum wage. I think "we" are strong women, raised to believe we could do anything we wanted, and were fortunate enough to have been provided with the resources to do so. I do feel incredibly lucky to have been raised like this, and I do call myself a feminist because there are so many poor, uneducated women in our society for whom an oppressive patriarchy is a reality.
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing up these issues on your blog, these kinds of discussions are important.
Well said Corre! Great to see the Ride is back!!
ReplyDelete“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson