Women's History Month

Betty Friedan, Mother of the Feminist Movement

March is  Women’s History Month in the United States.   In the Bible Belt where I live, and probably in many other areas of the United States, “feminist” is considered a dirty word.   I want to remind those who demonize the women’s rights movement of all the benefits the women in their lives enjoy as a result of the hard work undertaken by the feminists:

If a woman in your life (e.g., wife, daughter) played sports in school and had family members cheer her on, you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life wears pants to school, work, or church, you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life has been a victim of domestic violence and found help at a shelter and/or was able to divorce the abuser, you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life was raped by her intimate partner and sought legal redress for this crime, you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life attended graduate school, medical school, or law school, you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life was able to not only keep her job during a pregnancy, but was able to have maternity leave and even be allowed to continue breast feeding after she returned to work, you can thank the feminists.

If woman in your life has run for public office, or if you voted for a woman running for political office, you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life was able to continue her education plans after marriage, you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life was able to postpone having children until she finished her education or established herself in her career, you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life was able to space out her pregnancies so that her health did not suffer, you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life is able to have credit cards in her name, regardless of her marital status, you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life was able to enter into a “traditionally male” field such as law enforcement, firefighting, or even the ministry, you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life receives the same salary as men in her position, you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life applied for a job that was listed under “help wanted” and not “female jobs,” you can thank the feminists.

If a woman in your life can expect to be free of sexual harassment at her workplace, or if she experiences it, has legal recourse, you can thank the feminists.

Feminists were responsible for, among other things, the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the 1967 Executive Order extending full affirmative action rights to women, Title IX in 1972, the Women’s Educational Equity Act in 1974, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.

Many individuals who deny the positive achievements of the feminists are reaping the benefits of their hard labor.  It is wrong for individuals to enjoy those benefits without recognizing those who made it possible.  We must honor these women by giving credit where credit is due.  And if see yourself or woman in your life in the above statements, you must admit that you, too, are a feminist.