Feminism

Pallas Athene was born from her father Zeus's head, and from the moment of her birth she was second only to him in the entire pantheon of ancient Greece. It never occurred to her that she might be proscribed from certain abilities and activites because of her sex, and so she lived her life on equal footing with the gods.

Mortal women have had limits, sometimes severe ones, imposed upon them. When a woman breaks through a traditional social barrier she risks ridicule, suspicion, and in some places, even death. Change comes slowly. It took decades for suffragettes to win the vote for women in America. We're still sorting out the conflicting messages of the women's movement of the 60s and 70s; the movement empowered women to take control of their own lives, but it also implied that women's roles as mother and homemaker were less important than the traditionally male roles of working outside the home.

Mary Tyler Moore represented one of the first feminists for the masses on her popular TV show. Both feminine and feminist, she lived alone, was picky about who she went out with, refused to let her boss pigeonhole her as "just" a secretary. She did not act like a man in order to be equal -- she was herself.

We're still fighting for equality on several fronts. In the United States, many women are paid less for doing the same jobs as men; women are not as likely to be approved for loans as men; and women are barred from certain occupations, particularly in the military. When Bill Clinton campaigned for president, he touted the "two-for-one" advantage he and Hillary offered. But when Hillary became involved in running the country, the resulting uproar forced her to back off in order to help, rather than hinder, the office of the President.

Women share with men the need for personal success, even the taste for power, and no longer are we willing to satisfy those needs through the achievements of surrogates, whether husband, children or merely role models.
-- Elizabeth Dole

However, we have also made great progress. Both the men and the women of Gen X are less sexist than their grandparents and Baby Boomers were in the forefront of relaxing gender roles. John Lennon may be the most famous househusband of the 70s, spending much of his time at home after the birth of his and Yoko Ono's son, Sean. Women ask men out, pay their own way, sometimes pick up the tab for their dates. Women are starting their own businesses at twice the rate that men are, running for public office, raising their children in the spirit of equality and choice.

I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career.
-- Gloria Steinem

Feminism is starting to open a few doors for lesbians as well. Ellen deGeneres came out on national television; k.d. lang kissed Melissa Etheridge on MTV. Coming out to one's family can still be a harrowing and volatile experience for many, but lesbianism is no longer the well-kept secret it used to be.

Many women won't identify themselves as "feminists" because they don't want to be labeled as man-haters or dismissed as bitter. But feminism is not anti-male -- it's about being recognized as equal, having the same opportunities and the same responsibilities, regardless of gender. Taking these principles to such extreme lengths that women cut themselves off from their male counterparts is the dark side of Pallas Athene.

Every time we liberate a woman, we liberate a man.
--Margaret Mead

Click here for more on The Declaration of Rights for Women.