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Brett Prather Ebbtide Reporter To begin, I'd like to take a look at the definition given by the FMF (Feminist Majority Foundation) of just what feminism is: "the policy, practice, and advocacy of political, economic, and social equality for women." Well, this leads me to the question, how is that equality for everyone? Feminism claims to be a movement for equality (both genders), but how is that accomplished when the definition they supply is one with a gender bias? Nowhere does it say a movement for equality of both sexes. Doesn't anyone see a problem with a movement for equality dubbed "femin"ism? Equalism would be a movement of equality, feminism is an entirely different issue, and is clearly just out for women's gains. I just want to get that out of the way, because I'm tired of hearing people tell me that "we're all feminists" because we all want gender equality. But more important than intrinsic gender discrimination is the question of where inequity still exists. Now, call me naïve, but I believe an egalitarian mood hangs over this country; one that is irrespective of gender. If you don't believe me, just look at a few of these statistics: This is from the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, and it shows that out of 43 million employees included in the census, 21 million were women. Guess what? That's half. In fact, there were more women in professional jobs (lawyers, doctors, psychologists, etc.), historically considered a male-dominated demographic, than men. But then there's the inevitable complaint of wage disparity. Well, the Monthly Labor Review had this to say about income distribution by gender: "How much do women earn compared with men? The short answer to this question is that there are many answers to it: in some fields of study and occupations women do particularly well in relation to men, in others they do not fare so well, and in still others they are in between" (March 1998). Hmmm, that almost sounds like men compared to other men. Wage differences happen people; it's a fact of life. It's what happens when a worker is commended for being more efficient than another is. It has nothing to do with gender. So now the inevitable question for me to ask is: what exactly is the problem? I don't see one (at least domestically, international issues are another matter). © 2003 Shoreline Community College™ |
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