It is important to fight for womens' rights, recognition, and equality; not only in the US, but worldwide as well. Most women, in the US at least, support this idea and believe that the fight for social, economic, educational, and political equality is not yet over. Some women, however, do not stand by this idea. Ellie Winters, Grand Canyon University student and writer for The Odyssey Online, wrote an article last October titled 'I'm The Girl Who'd Rather Raise A Family Than A Feminist Protest Sign.' In the article Winters expresses her reasons for opposition against womens' marches and rallies. She argues that "we don’t need to fight the system anymore."
I both agree and disagree with Ellie.
I agree that it is becoming more common for women to be involved in business and other careers in the STEM field, and that the shaming that women who express their desires to be homemakers or stay-at-home mothers experience has to stop. I also agree that we are all "girl bosses!" But, I what I do not agree with is Ellie's idea that progress has been made to the point where it is okay to stop marching; where it is okay to stop speaking out. According to The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), women make up only 21% (286/1,362) or mayors in cities with at least 30,000 citizens, 12% of all US governors, and 19.8% (106/535) of the US Congress. The lack of female presence in American government is only a glimpse of this same issue on a global scale. It is important to see where Ellie and women who share her line of thinking are coming from. She represents a group of women that desires to stick to traditional values--and that is okay. But it is also crucial that we do not let our personal interactions and perceptions blind us to the reality of the position of women in the rest of society. The point of the Womens' March and other movements that stand for womens' rights and equality is not to invalidate those who choose to use their skills in the home rather than the workplace. The goal of the movements are to celebrate and uplift women. And if we want the movement to mean something, we've got to start to come together despite our differences in lifestyle and dreams, because at the end of the day, we are all fighting for the same thing: a better world for females. Sources: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/not-feminist-not-sorry http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/current-numbers https://www.womensmarch.com/principles/
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Hi!My name is Michayla. I serve as a reporter for my school newspaper, The Chant. You should check it out :) Archives
May 2018
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