As NOW holds annual
convention,
is feminism still
relevant?
JESSICA M. PASKO, AP
from centredaily.com on the Web, July 23, 2006
ALBANY, N.Y. July 21 -- A
recent Doonesbury comic strip posed the question of whether feminism is dead.
In malls around the country, young women snap up T-shirts with sayings like
"Future Trophy Wife" and "Who needs brains when you've got these?" scrawled
across the front.
When the National Organization for Women opened its annual convention here on
Friday, one of the foremost issues was whether feminism is still relevant, or if
it's an antiquated concept better left for history books and suffragists.
"I don't really consider feminism in my daily life, except for maybe trying to
be better than all the men I work with," said Erin Schoeberl, 24, of Walkill,
N.Y. who works in advertising.
The 40th gathering of feminists was the first since the January death of founder
Betty Friedan, author of "The Feminine Mystique."
The kickoff featured the Young Feminist Summit, a collection of workshops,
discussions and meetings focusing specifically on the issues young women face.
NOW's Young Feminist Task Force was formed several years ago to increase
membership and recruitment of younger women, and to ensure the annual
conventions include issues important to young women.
Friday's conference closed with an awards ceremony honoring the achievements of
several people who significantly worked toward and inspired young women's
empowerment. Folk singer Ani DiFranco, 35, was given the organization's
Women of Courage award for her dedication to teaching women about their own
strengths through her music.
Mai Shiozaki, press secretary for NOW, said the organization currently has
around 500,000 members. Shiozaki said the organization is definitely
seeing a surge in the feminist movement, but declined to comment on changes in
NOW's membership rates.
In the "I'm not a feminist, but ..." workshop, educator, writer and publisher
Greta J. Edwards and NOW board member Austin S. Lim examined the reasons why
many women still shy away from the classification of feminism.
One panel discussion speculated that some women want to avoid the feminist
stereotype of bra-burning man-haters, or could be unfamiliar with current
women's issues.
Other women, such as National Review's Washington editor Kate O'Beirne, have
argued that most women don't want the things feminists are fighting for.
In her recent book, "Women Who Make the World Worse," O'Beirne argued that the
feminist movement not only led to the breakdown of the traditional family, but
also degraded motherhood, weakened the military and much more. Such
philosophies have some feminists concerned that the movement's popularity could
be deteriorating.
"It's really sad to me," said Emma Blackman-Mathis, 17, of Allegheny, Pa.,
referring to her female peers who don't support the feminist movement's role in
modern society. "For instance, when you really look at all the ways and
the frequency with which women are portrayed in (such sexual ways), it blows
people's minds."
When Friedan co-founded NOW in the turbulent mid-1960s, it was based on the
assertion that a woman needed more than a husband and children. She staked
out positions that seemed extreme at the time on such issues as abortion,
sex-neutral help-wanted ads, equal pay, promotion opportunities and maternity
leave, stands that have been coming under increasing pressure.
A convergence of red and blue state politics has created the Mommy Wars, an
ongoing argument between working mothers and their stay-at-home counterparts.
In April, writer Caitlin Flanagan, often called an "antifeminist," published her
book "To Hell With It: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife," a
relative paean to stay-at-home mothers.
Flanagan believes that the women's movement shortchanged a generation, in other
words, that it sold a lot of women out. A major part of her credo has to
do with how women working outside of the home and gaining ground in the work
force also made them not as valued in the home the way they once were. She
argues that women want to be good at being homemakers and mothers, and that the
byproduct of women's empowerment was creating working women who still remain
unfulfilled. Her articles and book have touched off numerous debates,
adding to the growing schism.
But those within the feminist movement believe things are looking up.
While many acknowledge a noticeable decline in young women willing to call
themselves feminists in the past five years, current events have slowly brought
them back to the fold.
"I believe South Dakota has galvanized people in a way that is akin to Rosa
Parks' refusal to give up her seat," said Edwards, referring to that state's
abortion ban adopted in March. Edwards said she's seen more young women
moving toward feminist groups as the realization hits home that contraception
and abortion may not always be a sure thing.
The movement does continue to attract younger women, such as Blackman-Mathis,
who was honored at Friday's conference along with 23 other Pennsylvania girls
who successfully staged a "girlcott" against clothing retailer Abercrombie &
Fitch's line of "Who needs brains when you've got these?" T-shirts. Their
efforts paid off less than a week later when the company agreed to stop making
the shirts.
More than 900 women of all ages, as well as some men, were expected to attend
the three-day NOW conference, which continues through Sunday.
DOONSBURY, July 16,
2006
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