Today is International Women’s Day. The earliest observance
was “National Woman’s Day” in February 28, 1909 in New York, organized by the
Socialist Party of American at the suggestion of Theresa Malkiel. Inspired by
the American socialist, other countries established their own woman’s days. The
United Nations celebrated International Women’s Year in 1975 and in 1977, the
UN General Assembly invited members to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for
Women’s Rights and world peace. The general theme every International Women’s
Day is to acknowledge the social, economic, cultural and political achievements
of women. The specific theme of this year’s day is Balance for Better, a call
to action for accelerating gender balance.
Theresa Malkiel (1874-1949) was a Russian-born American
labor activist, suffragist and educator. In 1910, she published The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker, a
fictionalized account of the shirtwaist strike and told from the point of view
of an American born worker who is initially wary of her immigrant co-workers.
From what I was able to read about her, Malkiel seemed to be wary of the term,
feminism, as she turned on middle class women and blamed them for distracting
women from socialism with the “false consciousness of feminism” (Sorin). I
don’t know what Malkiel meant by false consciousness; but according to one
explanation I found was a woman being misled by the patriarchy as the source of
her experiences as a woman. In a sense, feminism would be a more accurate
analysis of a woman’s experience than her own. Examples of accusations of false
consciousness would be: 1) insisting that a woman has experienced sexism, even
if she asserts she never has, 2) insisting that a woman's choice of clothes is
dictated by the patriarchy when she regards them as a personal choice and 3)
insisting that a woman's career was chosen because of hindrance of her real
skills or potential by the patriarchy. In my case, feminists might see the fact
that I am a stay at home mom was chosen for me rather than by my free will. As
I read all these terms, I asked myself, what exactly is feminism?
Feminism is defined as “the advocacy of women's rights on
the basis of the equality of the sexes.” It seems so simple. The thing is that
for some, the definition of feminism is hard because “it’s impossible to have
an all-inconclusive definition” (Laurino, 2016). In other words, it can mean
different things to different people. It can be simply advocating right and
equity for women and that doesn’t mean you have to be anti-man to be pro-woman
(Oliver, 2012). Although, many of the feminist leaders certainly has given that
impression over the years. In general, contemporary American feminism has come
to mean “championing women’s autonomy and challenging the privileging of male
over female” (Laurino, 2016). When you hear feminist, what do you picture? An
angry woman who burns her bra and is anti-man? It’s what I see. It’s the image
I have seen in so many documentaries. It’s a person telling me that in order to
be fulfilled I need a career. I need something more than being a wife and
mother. But what if that is what I want? Growing up, my dream career choices
always changed but what never did was my desire to be a wife and a mother. Some
feminists might tell me that is just the patriarchy telling you that you want
that. No, it is. I am proud to be a Mrs. I am happy to wake up in the morning,
make my husband’s coffee and hand him his lunch as he leaves for work. I am
happy to get my daughter off to school and be at home to care for our infant
daughter.
So, I asked myself, could I be considered at feminist anyway? I
went through the list given in the article 15
Signs You’re Actually a Feminist (Oliver, 2012) and I am 47% feminist. I
support rights and equality for women because the United States has made some
strides in equality, there are still many changes still to be made. According
to the Work Bank study, the US performed poorly in the “having children”
category as it lags behind other countries in terms of maternity, paternity and
parental leave” (Picheta and Mirchandani, 2019). However, I don’t really pay
attention to how gender roles on portrayed in the media and I don’t get highly
offended if I am given specific tasks based on gender. I prefer to be inside
cleaning or cooking than outside mowing the lawn. The idea of getting married
and having children in my 20s wasn’t undesirable. I technically did get married
in my 20s but I was closer to 30 than 20. One of the reasons I do not like to
call my self a feminist is because I don’t want to be anti-man. It is
unfortunate that the image is bra-burning, man-hating, women “running around
emasculating men or triumph one gender over the other” (Neustaeter, 2019). Being
anti-man isn’t going to get the equality women want and I have a feeling that
some feminists want to treat men as women have been treated but attitude is
shallow and counterproductive. And feminism shouldn’t be about agreeing with
every woman’s opinion but simply acknowledging and voicing our own opinion
(Neustaeter, 2019). I acknowledge everyone’s opinion whether I like it or not.
In conclusion, International Women’s Day is a day to
acknowledge and celebrate the contributions women have made in our history as
well as today. With it’s humble begins during the suffragette movement, the day
is a day to bring more awareness to the changes we need to make in our world.
While I do not fully consider myself a feminist, I do recognize that many
issues remain in our society where women are at a disadvantage to men and we
can continue the good work of so many before us. With feminism being so broadly
defined, it has led to many misunderstandings and animosity in today’s world.
To me, men and women should be able to do any job they wish and live a life
according to their beliefs and standards. We need to learn to acknowledge each
other’s opinion, whether we agree with them or not, and react with maturity
rather than hate and bullying.
References
Laurino, Maria. (February 18, 2016). What does it mean to be
a Feminist? www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-laurino/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a_b_9269592.html.
Retrieved March 3, 2019.
Neustaeter, Katie (March 3, 2019). There shouldn’t be an
International Woman’s Day. www.cfjctoday.com/column/656359/there-shouldnt-be-international-womens-day?fbclid=IwAR39G2MJa2xhOWBv7c4rDijsIfEeLN56luw5kkHtHMHfrkQKLM5MwhN3H5g.
Retrieved March 3, 2019.
Oliver, Brittany. (December 11, 2012). 15 Signs You’re
Actually a Feminist. www.mic.com/articles/20561/15-signs-you-re-actually-a-feminist#.lgkfsij1N.
Retrieved March 3, 2019.
Picheta, Rob and Mirchandani, Kieron. (March 2, 2019). Only
Six Countries have Equal Rights for Men and Women, World Bank Finds. www.edition.cnn.com/2019/03/02/europe/world-bank-gender-equality-report-intl/index.html.
Retrieved March 3, 2019.
Sorin, Gerald (Jewish Women’s Archive) Socialism in the
United States. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/socialism-in-united-states.
Retrieved March 3, 2019.
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