Yes, we women have had the vote for under a century in this country. You'd think after "allowing" us the right to vote, the male-dominated government of the United States would have also allowed us to make a few more advances each year we proved our monthly cycle didn't hamper our sentient thought, our ability to put in a hard day's work at the outside the home and yet another upon returning there, drive, pay taxes, and vote
their best interests. Rarely, if ever, do we truly vote our own best interests, or we'd be much further along than we are, but I digress.... instead we do as they "allow" us to do, which is cast our votes for the men they and the male-dominated media select for us, and the handful of women who show they can be counted on to continue all the policies of patriarchy like "one of the guys". But, there I go again, digressing... or, am I?
As I said, you'd think after "allowing" us the right to vote, we would have also been "allowed" a few more advances each year. But, if you pay attention as I have done to the state of equality between men and women in this country, you know that that is not the case at all.
In this morning's
Boston Globe, there is a very thoughtful Op-Ed by Ellen Goodman on this very subject:
A year of notable setbacks for womenBy Ellen Goodman | August 24, 2007
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/08/24/a_year_of_notable_setbacks_for_women/"The Patriarch of the Year Prize goes with disappointment to US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy whose opinion restricting abortions rested on the retro notion that women needed to be protected from "regret," "grief," and "sorrow," even if it meant protecting them from their rights. We send the paternalistic justice a hook to bring him back to the 21st century."
Let me begin by saying this is no run-of-the-mill article about the erosion of women's Constitutional Right to freedom of Choice, or the moral right to control our own bodies and plan our own families. Like I said, if you're paying attention to those things as I am, you know our reproductive rights are hanging by a thread over the nearest toilet bowl, with the hands of those mostly rich old white boys we ladies help elect year after year poised to flush as soon as they hit the water.
This Op-Ed begins with the following paragraph:
"THIS SUNDAY, we will gather once more to pay homage to our foremothers by celebrating the Aug. 26 anniversary of the passage of suffrage. What a year it's been since we last met. We've seen the first woman speaker of the House, the first woman president of Harvard University, and who can forget Bill Clinton, striving to become the first 'first laddie'?"
Aside from the fact that the first female Speaker of the House has proven as big (or bigger) a disappointment as any of the men who preceded her in that job. (Proving we can be trusted with the vote, gentlemen... and we can mirror your performance, if you just give us the chance.) I know... I'm getting too snarky. Let me just put on my white gloves, extend my pinky, and move on. But, before I do, please consider if Sen.Clinton is nominated, then elected, will we really refer to Bill Clinton as "first laddie"? I doubt it.
Anyway, instead of devolving into one of those "unbearable" feminist screeds, where the author whines about silly things like
equal pay for equal work or
the glass ceiling present in most of corporate America or
the ever pesky right to have our entire bodies unregulated by law, among all those things we pedantic, uppity feminist usually whine about. (May I just take a moment to remind you that here, in supposedly the "free-est" country on earth, we women have only had the right to vote like real people for 87 years, this coming Sunday? I'm not complaining, much, but, that's less than a century. If you don't find that astounding, don't bother reading the rest of this because you won't care.) So, instead of devolving, as I said, this Op-Ed turns into something all good patriarchal men and the women who collude with them can enjoy... a set of awards for their achievements in the area of setbacks to feminism and equality for the past year. You'll have to go and read the whole Op-Ed to see them all, but I thought I'd high-light a few here for your information. Thus, without further ado, the envelopes please:
:graybox: The Patriarch of the Year Prize goes with disappointment to US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy whose opinion restricting abortions rested on the retro notion that women needed to be protected from "regret," "grief," and "sorrow," even if it meant protecting them from their rights. We send the paternalistic justice a hook to bring him back to the 21st century.
:graybox: The Blind Justice Award is winging its way to Carson City, Nev., District Judge Bill Maddox. While sentencing a man on kiddie porn charges, he opined: "It's my understanding that most men are sexually attracted to young women. . . . I mean women from the time they're 1 all the way up until they're 100." That blindfold should be placed carefully over his mouth. So many judges, so few blindfolds.
:graybox: The Tammy Wynette Stand By Your Man Prize goes (temporarily) to Wendy Vitter, wife of family-values Senator David Vitter, who admitted to a "very serious sin in my past" after the Louisiana Republican's name was found in the D.C. Madam's black book. In a 2000 interview, Ms. Vitter said, "I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary (Clinton). If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing and it's not alimony, trust me." Stay tuned.
:graybox: The Doctors, Doctors Everywhere Male-Practice Award goes to the former surgeon general, Richard Carmona, who belatedly confessed to toeing the White House line on abstinence-only education while knowing it was bunk. He is given a Post-it for his new life: Just Say No
:graybox: The Post-Feminist Prize goes to Money (magazine) for its financial advice on how to close the pay gap: Marry rich. Money offered an investment manual on how to be the wife -- first, second or trophy -- of a gazillionaire. They say "wear small diamond earrings." Just watch out for the prenup.
:graybox: The Our Bodies/Our Daughters Award goes to Mattel. The folks who brought you Barbie are collaborating on a new line of make-up -- for 6- to 9-year-olds. For this, they and all their ilk, were awarded a special cosmetic for the next year: egg on their face.
Just so the patriarchs of this country aren't made to feel too singled-out, there are also international Awards bestowed as well. "Comfort Women" in Japan still get no apology; Ezzat Attiya, a creative Egyptian cleric issued a fatwa saying that there was one way around the religious taboo against unmarried men and women working together. Women can breast-feed their male co-workers and legally become family; British researchers who reported that housework reduced the risk of breast cancer in women; and, to prove their progress toward gender equality, Iran, just last month stoned to death a man for adultery. But, mostly I wanted to stick to American "progress" in this post to prove I can stay "focused" while discussing an "emotional" subject like equal rights... so uncharacteristic for those of us with no Y chromosome.
This post was not meant to be anti-male, just anti-patriarchal, so to end it I would like to pay tribute to the many wonderful males who post here at DU. Most days there are relatively few of them going patriarchal all over our a**es. I appreciate that. And the many male friends I have who post here (you know who you are), you are true gentlemen and a real bunch of menches. And, to the women here, I say: Use your vote wisely by voting for the candidate who will
genuinely further the causes of the things you really care about. Consider the futures of your daughters and grandaughters. Demand better representation from your Party. And, while you're at it, demand equality
not just for women, but for
all Americans, because we women will never be truly free until ALL Americans are.
Happy Suffrage Day! Here's to not being in the same lousy place in another 87 years!
TC
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