Equal Pay Day!

This is a topic that I can say I am VERY familiar with. My sophomore year of college, in 2005, I was told I had to write a paper on a policy and follow up on the transformation of it over the years. The typical feminist that I am, I decided to write my paper on the Equal Pay Act of 1963. This paper the next year would transform and expand to turn into my Research Methods paper on Discrimination Against Women in the Workforce, which proved to be a much harder paper to write due to a limited number of resources. The following year I followed up on previous papers with my thesis, which was on Discrimination Against Mothers in the Workforce. My thesis was not only the most challenging paper of the three because it had to be about 25 pages long, but mostly because of the lack of resources and published material on this topic.

When I told a relative that my thesis was on this topic, my relative responded with, "It must be a hard paper to write. Discrimination in the workforce doesn't really exist anymore. Women are equals and discrimination is illegal. That's the reason you can't find literature on it. It's not as prevelant as you thought."

I would love to say that he is correct, but I just can't. Discrimination does exist in many forms, the one that I'm most familiar with due to my research being that of equal pay. When I wrote my first paper in 2005, I recall noting that in 2004, women were paid nearly 77 cents to the dollar that every man makes. (http://www.pay-equity.org/info-time.html) As of this year, it is now a whopping 78 cents. Some improvement is always great, but I would also like to point out 2 things. 1)The wage gap has only closed 49 cents since 1963 and 2)It could always go back down again next year. Change is change, however it does not define permanence.

At this rate, the wage gap has closed less than 1 cent a year. This gap shows us that discrimination is living and well. The lack of literature on this topic and the assumption by others that women are considered to be complete equals because "discrimination is illegal" tell me that we still have a lot of work to do before a significant change can take place. The battle is not over. I can only hope that the initiative Obama has already taken and the initiatives that will take place in the next 4 years, along with the work of other men and women who care about this issue, can help us get closer to bridging this gap before another 46 years pass.

~Mea

Hi, My name is Mea and I am a Feminist

"I myself have never been able to find out what feminism is; I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute." ~Rebecca West

 

My parents say I was born a feminist.  From the time I was young, I always recognized and questioned the gender rules that were forced upon us as the “norms” of society. “Don’t sit with your legs open, it’s unladylike, “ my grandmother would say.  “Ladies always cross their legs at the ankles.” I’d stare down at my legs spread open, or even crossed underneath me “Indian style,” they way they taught us to sit in a circle at school. The boy sitting across from me in the doctor’s office didn’t have to cross his legs. I blinked in silence, questioning what it even meant to be ladylike and wondered, at the age of six, who decided that just because I was born a female, I had to sit a certain way.

 

So what is a feminist? I’m still trying to understand that myself. I’m proud of calling myself a feminist, and I love studying the history of feminism and hearing the empowering stories of feminists. Yet, I think it’s sad that I must label myself that way, as proud as I am to have that title. If women were truly seen as equals to men, women would not have to declare themselves or have others declare them as “feminists.” Or better yet, there would be a more well known and frequently used term for men who are in touch with their sexuality.

 

I remember my first day in Women Studies 101. It was sophomore year in my small conservative school. The first day of class, our professor asked us, “Raise your hand if you would call yourself a feminist.” It was as though her words fell upon deaf ears. A single hand did not raise that day. Somehow, we were all interested in taking this elective, yet none of us wanted to consider ourselves to be a “feminist.” That was too taboo.

 

I am a feminist. I am proud to say it. But for a long time, I would never dare to use that term to describe myself. I had always felt that women were treated as unequals, and yearned for the day (and still am) when I wouldn’t hear the words “you can’t because you are a girl.” I hated accepting that anything in life was not possible because of my sex. Yet, I believed in the stereotype that to be a woman, you must despise all men, and that men were the enemy.

 

This seemed to be the general consensus of the class. When asked why all twenty-five of us did not consider ourselves feminists, students started calling out “because I don’t hate men.”

 

I laugh at that thought now. I love men just as much as I love women. I now recognize that not all feminists are men-hating, or really any of the stereotypes that may be suggested of them. Just as being a “woman”  or a “man” has it’s own stereotypes, so does the word and the idea of being a “feminist.”

 

To me, a feminist is anyone, male or female, who loves and is proud of women enough to work towards an equal playing field. A feminist does not discriminate or accept the phrase “she can’t because she is a woman.” A feminist may not be standing on the corner holding signs at a rally, but he or she will do his or her own part to educate and inform others to not just accept, but change inequalities based on gender in this country. Even changing the mind of one other person, can make a difference.

 

The truth is, society must be changed as a whole to continue with this feminist movement. We do not have to start with men and change their outlook towards us. We do not have to consider them the enemy. Women need our help too. Many women do not even realized how marginalized they are in society because they have always accepted and never questioned the gender differences that were forced upon us from the day we were born. Males and females can be as equally sexist, or perhaps just equally blind to these unequal gender issues that lie before us.

 

I propose a change. Even if it means changing the mind of  your next door neighbor. America, I ask you to show us why we live in the land of “equality and justice for all.” Speak your mind. Don’t sit back and accept. Fight the fight, one man or woman at a time. Change will be ours tomorrow, but we have to work for it today. I ask you to rise, Feminists of America.

 

~Mea