Maria Shriver, the First Lady of California, whose husband is backing McCain, comes out for Obama.
Alma Rangel, the First Lady of Harlem, whose husband, Congressman Charlie Rangel is backing Hillary Clinton, comes out for Obama.
Susan Eisenhower, whose grandfather was a Republican legend, comes out for Obama.
Oprah, Caroline Kennedy, the Senator from Missouri, the Governor of Kansas... The list of prominent women who are choosing Obama over the potential first woman president keeps growing.
Last month, one of the icons of the Movement, Gloria Steinem, argued for the election of Hillary Clinton in a New York Times OpEd piece, asserting "the sex barrier (is) not taken as seriously as the racial one."
But her counterpart who started it all with "The Feminine Mystique," might not agree. If she were still alive, Betty Friedan would be out there for Obama.
In 1968, Friedan and I were working together for Eugene McCarthy to stop the war in Vietnam. She would not be likely to back Hillary Clinton, who voted to start the one in Iraq, over Barack Obama, who spoke out against starting it.
There are times when bloodshed trumps both gender and race.
Showing posts with label Feminine Mystique. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Feminine Mystique. Show all posts
Monday, February 04, 2008
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Sexy Feminists
Now comes a scientific study to prove that feminists are hot.
“Contrary to popular opinion,” Science Daily reports, “feminism and romance are not incompatible and feminism may actually improve the quality of heterosexual relationships.” The study also refutes stereotypes that “stigmatize feminists as unattractive and sexually unappealing.”
As someone who worked at the dawn of the women’s movement with hundreds of feminists, I’m puzzled by the need half a century later to argue (the study is more polemic than science) that women who have strong feelings about their rights in society are not sexually impaired.
Betty Friedan, who started it all with “The Feminine Mystique,” once showed up to protest the lunchtime exclusion of women by the Plaza Hotel’s Oak Room in New York with special makeup to hide the black eye and bruises her husband had given her. But she got out of that bad marriage and, although far from a beauty, had satisfying long-term relationships with men for the rest of her long life.
The other icon of the movement, Gloria Steinem, who came to her calling after going undercover to write an article, “I Was a Playboy Bunny,” later made into a TV movie, was once described by Time as “one of the best dates to take to a New York party these days--or, failing such luck, one of the most arresting names to drop.”
Both worked with me at different times as contributing editors, and there was nothing “unattractive and sexually unappealing” about them and the multitudes who followed their lead.
“It is generally perceived that feminism and romance are in direct conflict,” the report on the new study says.
Perhaps by men who feel threatened and some brainwashed women, but these are people with problems of their own. The scientists should spend some time studying them.
“Contrary to popular opinion,” Science Daily reports, “feminism and romance are not incompatible and feminism may actually improve the quality of heterosexual relationships.” The study also refutes stereotypes that “stigmatize feminists as unattractive and sexually unappealing.”
As someone who worked at the dawn of the women’s movement with hundreds of feminists, I’m puzzled by the need half a century later to argue (the study is more polemic than science) that women who have strong feelings about their rights in society are not sexually impaired.
Betty Friedan, who started it all with “The Feminine Mystique,” once showed up to protest the lunchtime exclusion of women by the Plaza Hotel’s Oak Room in New York with special makeup to hide the black eye and bruises her husband had given her. But she got out of that bad marriage and, although far from a beauty, had satisfying long-term relationships with men for the rest of her long life.
The other icon of the movement, Gloria Steinem, who came to her calling after going undercover to write an article, “I Was a Playboy Bunny,” later made into a TV movie, was once described by Time as “one of the best dates to take to a New York party these days--or, failing such luck, one of the most arresting names to drop.”
Both worked with me at different times as contributing editors, and there was nothing “unattractive and sexually unappealing” about them and the multitudes who followed their lead.
“It is generally perceived that feminism and romance are in direct conflict,” the report on the new study says.
Perhaps by men who feel threatened and some brainwashed women, but these are people with problems of their own. The scientists should spend some time studying them.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Happiness Gap Between Women and Men
Fifty years ago, at a Smith College alumni reunion, Betty Friedan handed out a questionnaire asking classmates how they felt about their lives, which inspired the sacred text of gender inequality, “The Feminine Mystique.”
Now, according to the New York Times, researchers studying data about people’s satisfaction have made a discovery: “In the early 1970s, women reported being slightly happier than men. Today, the two have switched places.”
To explain why, the social scientists report: “Since the 1960s, men have gradually cut back on activities they find unpleasant. They now work less and relax more.
“Over the same span, women have replaced housework with paid work--and, as a result, are spending almost as much time doing things they don’t enjoy as in the past. Forty years ago, a typical woman spent about 23 hours a week in an activity considered unpleasant, or 40 more minutes than a typical man. Today, with men working less, the gap is 90 minutes.”
All this suggests that inequality has not disappeared but morphed. The educated women Betty Friedan found unhappy as housewives now have careers but are still doing most of the caring for homes, children and aging parents.
If there were a companion movement to Feminism, Masculinism might examine to what extent all this is due to unfair expectations of women or just the fabled insensitivity of men who are happy to spend their free time drinking beer and watching ball games on TV.
Behind such clichés, at the brink of possibly electing a woman to run the country, there are complicated questions about family politics to be aired and considered. Perhaps Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Edwards, Judith Giuliani and Jeri Thompson can get together and start a national discussion.
Now, according to the New York Times, researchers studying data about people’s satisfaction have made a discovery: “In the early 1970s, women reported being slightly happier than men. Today, the two have switched places.”
To explain why, the social scientists report: “Since the 1960s, men have gradually cut back on activities they find unpleasant. They now work less and relax more.
“Over the same span, women have replaced housework with paid work--and, as a result, are spending almost as much time doing things they don’t enjoy as in the past. Forty years ago, a typical woman spent about 23 hours a week in an activity considered unpleasant, or 40 more minutes than a typical man. Today, with men working less, the gap is 90 minutes.”
All this suggests that inequality has not disappeared but morphed. The educated women Betty Friedan found unhappy as housewives now have careers but are still doing most of the caring for homes, children and aging parents.
If there were a companion movement to Feminism, Masculinism might examine to what extent all this is due to unfair expectations of women or just the fabled insensitivity of men who are happy to spend their free time drinking beer and watching ball games on TV.
Behind such clichés, at the brink of possibly electing a woman to run the country, there are complicated questions about family politics to be aired and considered. Perhaps Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Edwards, Judith Giuliani and Jeri Thompson can get together and start a national discussion.
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