An advertising insert is to blame for the following rant.
Fifty-two years ago Ms. Magazine debuted and second-wave feminism was on a roll. Many believed that gender equality was right around the corner. From one perspective that really matters in America--sports--one could draw the conclusion that it was. Think of how WNBA pioneers such as Becky Lobo, Candace Parker, and Sherly Swoopes paved the way for Sue Bird, Brittney Griner, and Diana Taurasi, who passed the baton to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and A’ja Wilson. Women’s soccer players such as Mia Ham, Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Hope Solo have out-performed male teams for decades. And how about Olympians like Simone Biles, Florence Joyner, Katie Ledecky, and Gabby Thomas?
I’d be the last to deny that women have made great strides across American society. I’d also be the last to affirm that the Ms. dream is anywhere close to reality. In many ways it seems further away now than in 1972. Backlash eroded a whole lot of progress. A short list includes the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment, the assault on Roe v. Wade, pay inequity, and cultural changes that negatively impacted women.
The last should never been undersold. Reagan tried to tell us that women were already equal, though he coddled anti-feminists like Phyllis Schlafly and rightwing evangelicals. Fox News specializes in bimbo culture, with its leggy blondes (natural or bottled) and its willingness to peddle backdoor GOP idiocy such as attacks on Hillary Clinton's pant suits. It played a large role in helping Trump defeat her and is pulling out the stops again against Kamala Harris. In a feminist world Clinton would have swamped the smarmy Trump and the upcoming election would be a Harris runaway.
Trump embodies the ways in which feminism as a movement has lost its mojo. Here’s a guy who brags about grabbing women’s genitals, was found guilty of sexual assaulting E. Jean Carroll, and at last count has been accused of abusing 25 others. Yet somehow he promises to be a “protector” of women and many deluded souls believe him.
What to do? Answer: Change the culture. Baby Boomers led the fight for gender equality until too many fell prey to economic greed. Gen X did a bit better simply by kicking down a few doors, but though it will anger some to hear it, things have stalled under Millennials and Gen Z. Pick your reasons why. Solipsism? Short attention spans? Materialism? I’m tempted to add that they place too much faith in politics and not enough in how they live.
Socialization is generally considered the most important factor in how a child will come to view the world. Some parents are great–one of my favorite moms (and people) ever made sure her daughter had sports equipment, books, and toys that sparked her imagination, not those that simply anesthetize. This sort of put-your-ideals-into-action mechanism is no guarantee that everyone will shout out “the kids are alright” (apologies to Pete Townshend) but it can’t hurt. It’s what every parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent, teacher, and employer should do.
This brings me to the insert. One of this household’s favorite pastimes is perusing junk mail catalogs for the tackiest or coolest thing on each page. Who could resist one titled “Top Toys”? I wish we had! It depressed me to consider how little has changed. We still live in a pink and blue world. It’s still girls as passive domestics and boys doing the things they've always been expected to do. It’s action figures for boys and Barbie for girls. (Apparently not many viewers got it that the movie Barbie was a take-down of traditional roles.) Trucks, guns, Hot Wheels, Star Wars, and dinosaurs for the XY kids and princesses for the distaff side, though realistically they should prepare to be homemakers and cleaners.
Sure, you could take away a girl’s Barbie and hand her a Transformer, but the way socialization works is that: (a) She will still want the Barbie, or (b) Suffer ostracism from peers for being a weird kid. Reverse and give a boy a Barbie and it doesn’t get better. A better option might be for consumers to boycott stores that promote blatant gender discrimination.
I’ll entertain the idea that I’m making a mountain out of a mole hill but take a look for yourself before you conclude that.
Rob Weir
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