September Commentary

September Commentary "I am surprised by the number of women polled who seem to believe feminism is simply a historical movement that lived and died around 1973 and was composed of white, middle class, college educated women. Feminism thrives and it is everywhere through the actions of women--past and present--who are not afraid to stand up for their rights. Many of the women polled claimed that they "made it on their own." And that's fine--that's wonderful--because that's what feminist freedom is about: women having the OPPORTUNITY to be anything they want to be, worker, mother, straight, gay, celibate, a combination or none at all. The question was "Do We Need Feminism Now?" Considering the gendered wage gap that still exists, the female genital mutilation that occurs all over the world, sex crimes that are taken lightly or go unpunished, and the everyday discrimination and hostility toward women that still lingers, women need to continue speaking up for themselves, as individuals or in groups. In America women have basic rights and that's beautiful, but they are rights we must continue to fight to keep." Jennifer

"I think that article on Feminism was right about the general consensus of minority and poor women. People assume that feminism helped all women it didn't. There's a reason certain groups of women don't know feminism and those who do don't call themselves feminists. One of my co-workers told me about the article "Do We Need Feminism Now?" and she was very irritated by it, she just assumed I shared her beliefs on feminism, I didn't. I'm a firm believer the article in question was right, as a single African-American mom I don't see anything gained by women of color from feminism and for feminists to be so pompous to believe that it was their efforts that gave me the right to work and pursue happiness is irritating to me. I'm old enough to remember the Civil Rights marches in the sixties, seeing loved ones attacked by police dogs, and hit with patons, I'm well aware of the sacrifices by those that made it possible for me to pursue happiness without persecution and you can believe none of those physically abused heroines were feminists."Jolene

"The writer of the article sounded surprised by the responses received regarding Do We Need Feminism Now. One thing she was right about was when the women were out of the politically correct environment and could speak freely they said exactly what was on their hearts feminism didn't do squat for them."Kiki

"White upper middle class women have a hard time understanding why latinas and blacks don't want to be feminists. If you want a heated discussion bring up feminism, you'll have whites saying all women owe their "liberties and rights" to feminism and latinas and blacks saying their owe no one but our parents for sweating it out in deplorable conditions so their children may live better. Frankly feminism is a old topic that don't need any further discussions."Maria

"What's wrong with being a feminist?The people interviewed made it sound like nothing was gained by the feminists for all women?"anonymous

"I'm sure the letters started pouring in when women read those responses by your polled subjects. I know none of their remarks will touch bases with feminists because they're not what the feminists want to hear."Cynthia

"I didn't know things were so bad between the different social groups of women it makes me so sad. I was under the impression all women benefited from feminism."Marti

"I'm 55 and I've worked in my present position at the same company for 30 years,I've seen it all. Cat fights, bickering, poor job performance, and false allegations,now if this is what feminism is all about then today's young women have mastered their feminist lessons. Young women fresh from college come to a company expecting things to be handed to them rather than pulling their own weight. These women have the altitude the world owes them something and they're out to collect and that's wrong but do you hear feminists saying it's wrong. What gets me about the feminists is the validation they give these youngsters when they are clearly wrong in some of their allegations. It's the silence that validates,justifies, and it hurts all women."Melva

"I think the article restated a fact already known, there are two worlds, one is the haves and the second is the have nots. How many well-known feminists are the have nots, please share their names?"Patrice

"I found the responses interesting too because neither group is hearing the other. One groups calls a woman a feminist if she's willing to stand up for herself, whereas, the other group sees feminists as a group of women who want to claim victory over a fight they didn't fight. It's kinda like a woman claiming her husband don't hear what she's saying and he claims she's always misunderstanding him. Both are talking but neither are hearing what the other is saying."Janna

"I'm a HUMANIST, I want what is fair and just for ALL people male and female,black,white,asian,rich and poor. Most women like me see feminism as a device that prevents caring for everybody, instead it wants women to prosper on the backs of others and that's repeating the past mistakes of men."Linda

"We can agree to disagree on feminism is what I tell my friends who are feminists. I do not see any use for it, like one of the interviewees' said, what purpose it may have had is gone."Nieves

I'll reiterate, if feminists don't change their current mentality of them being right and everyone else wrong they'll scare away the next generation of women"Toreasa

NEXT PAGE