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The Gaffer's Philosophy:
Part 124: Women's Rights:
October 11, 2004:
In my last essay I discussed some of the issues of our disadvantaged minority citizens. In this part I want to take a closer look at the issues of women's rights. In the main, the grievances we hear are still mostly about economic oppression. It involves not just pay but hiring practices and industrial attitudes in general. Once again, the causes are to be found in our history. The facts are, our founders did not consider women to be equal citizens with the same rights as men.
For example, women were not allowed to participate in the political process. Just as our blacks, they had no voting rights. In fact, woman suffrage, the right of women to vote, was only proposed in the U.S. in 1848.This came out of the first United States woman's rights convention organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. There was to be a very long struggle after that where many tough brave women risked the wrath and ridicule of men to carry the cause forward.
Among these was Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucy Stone. Mott helped to found that first woman's convention. She also stood up to her husband, one James Mott, who founded the American Anti-Slavery Society. When Lucretia discovered that women were excluded, she promptly founded the Female Anti-Slavery Society. So there!
Susan B. Anthony is well know to students of American History. She was another leader in the quest for women's rights and she also founded the first woman's temperance association called The Daughters of Temperance. In women's rights she worked with Stanton to force laws guaranteeing women rights over their children and control of property and wages. This was in New York in 1863.
For the serious student, there is much more to this history of women's suffrage. The upshot of all this effort was the passage of the 19th amendment to our constitution in 1920. It is short and to the point.
Amendment XIX
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account
of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
For sure, that did not end discrimination based on sex. There was still a steep hill of cultural attitude to climb. Most of that was delayed until women once again got tough. That culminated in the so called feminist movement that began in the 1960s. It was driven to a large extent by Betty Friedan of the National Organization for Women (NOW). That was when it became about equal pay and employment opportunities. The other issues were abortion rights, sexual harassment, and stereotyping. Because of neanderthal religious fundamentalists some of that fight is still ongoing.
Now, I must look closely at some of the remaining complaints, because not all of them are equally valid. For example, some women are still complaining about a glass ceiling concerning promotional opportunities. What they fail to understand is their so called glass ceiling also affects most men. It pretty much affects everyone except the people who are in power and their suck up cronies. Thank Gord some women are beginning to figure this out. They are coming to realize they don't need men to make their lives work. They do not need to have someone give them jobs. They can create their own firms and businesses. They can create their own careers.
The point is, if you want to be in charge, which is what this glass ceiling bull is about, you must do what Bill Gates, Henry Ford, or Hewlett and Packard did. Like Gloria Steinem or Martha Steward you must create your own empire. Why in the world would you expect someone who has walked over bodies to get where he is to hand it over to you? He will not and he should not. When he does hand it over it will be to someone he has groomed in his own image.
This same discrimination nonsense logic also applies to other situations. The favorite for many women is the service manager or mechanic in an auto repair shop. Women complain that those people treat them like idiots. They fail to understand that those kind of people treat everyone that way. The question is, why do you tolerate that kind of treatment? Mrs. Gaffer and I do not. We checked around until we found a place that does not treat us like idiots. Now they get all of our business and Mrs. Gaffer is not intimidated at all about taking her auto there. She goes alone. She does not need me to back her up. That's good because I am quite busy.
The problem here is a common one for technical people of any kind. Even doctors do it and so called computer professionals do it in spades. They have developed their own jargon type of language, but they have developed no communication skills at all. If they were true professionals they would learn to communicate, but most do not. When a customer fails to comprehend their jargon they lay it off as the customer's lack of perception. the real problem is the inability of the technician to communicate in his native language. This problem has nothing to do with women. It has to do with the mentality of the technician. I still say, shop around until you find someone who can communicate in English.
Here is another reality too many of us refuse to face. In general, men do not condition children, women do. I never bought my daughter a Barbie Doll®. Her mother did that. I would have been more likely to buy her an Erector Set®. I taught my daughter that there were no limits except the ones she imposed on herself. I encouraged her to compete and be the best she could be. She did just that. In spite of the damned dolls, she now holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Genetics. Yes, she is a PHD, one of the few I know who can find her butt with both hands. Most PHDs I know cannot even find the bathroom. That's another tragedy which has no part in this essay.
The real problem for a lot of women is their earlier conditioning. It was imposed on them when they were defenseless against it, not by men, but by their mothers. They were conditioned to be decorative, timid, and subservient just as most boys were conditioned to be posturing blustering bullies. This conditioning is difficult to overcome and even more difficult to interrupt. Even today, most mothers condition their daughters to be good nest makers, mothers, and wives with no ambitions beyond that. Most boys are still condition to be macho men. This is the real tragedy of sexism. It is perpetrated by the very victims of it. This is the cycle we must break. We must interrupt it where it begins, in the home.
Of course, we cannot ethically or legally go into a home and tell the occupants they must not condition their children. What we can do, to the extent possible, is subvert that conditioning wherever we encounter it. One way to do that is for us enlightened people to not condition our own children and not accept the stereotyping of our kids from anyone including relatives. Yes, even grandma must be interrupted. Beyond that we can encourage all kids to be creative and to believe in themselves, to be the best they can be in all areas.
Now, where is the best place to do this? We can do it in our community schools. We can begin as soon as we get the kids. We can try to get them sooner with so called preschool if possible. The sooner we can begin, the more thoroughly we can draw the children out and begin teaching them the truth. They do not have to be just girls or just boys. They can be whatever they want to be. I have already written enough about this in my education essays. Read them!
Feminism is not just a female specific movement. It is the
beginning of the final human revolution. It is the road to the
ultimate liberation of mankind, when we finally begin to realize
our true potential, when men and women begin to open to the genius
within them. This I believe. Let's get to it.
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