The modern women’s movement, as Amanda Marcotte points out in her article, “A short history of ‘feminist’ anti-feminists” (http://www.slate.com/id/2256184), effectively manages to combine the oppressive yearning of a simpler time with the progressive gains that increased women’s collective economic vitality. Sarah Palin embodies what Marcotte calls the “feminist anti-feminists,” women, who while professionally successful themselves, advocate for repressive laws against other women, limiting access to abortion, increasing guilt, and denying women’s true sexual liberation.
Sexual liberation doesn’t mean a willingness to succumb to your inevitable captivity. It means escaping from the hysteria-inducing mainstream culture that incessantly threatens women with their inherent ugliness. It means awakening to the reality that you are an intelligent human being, capable of infinite possibilities, with or without the help of a man. Men are our equals. We do not have to swoon for them, or lie there helpless, desperate for their guidance and wisdom. We are capable of wisdom and guidance ourselves. This does not make us unattractive, or in any way worthy of contempt.
True equality will never come unless women first band together and work toward a common goal. Until we come up with an agreed-upon definition of what we are working for, we will be our own biggest obstacles. Our houses are always divided, jealousy consumes, and the movement stagnates. We have to broaden our definition of what “being a woman” really means. It does not mean simply “virgin or whore,” “skinny or fat.” It simply means “being a human being.”
No comments:
Post a Comment