Introduction
Although feminism and the matter of women's rights existed long before the 1960's and early 1970's, what we think of as "The Women's Movement" is something we generally associate with that time period. It was in the 1960's and early 1970's, of course, when The Women's Movement had gotten into full swing. That was also the time frame within which I grew up. It was also a frame-of-mind and a major frame-of-reference; both of which provided a backdrop against which, and foundation on which, my life (and thinking) as young, adult, woman would be built.
As a second-wave Baby Boomer, the women who had become well known (and both respect and detested) for their very public and pivotal roles in The Women's Movement had already cut some substantial paths for their slightly younger "sisters". As a result, as I reached adulthood and looked down that path that I saw as my future as a woman, I saw possibilities that women not all that much older than I had not seen.
This isn't to suggest, by any means, that I "had it made" by the time I reached adulthood. The Women's Movement, after all, wasn't something that took place in a matter of a few years. It was more something that came into full swing and became the beginning of many changes that would take place in society, as well as offer increasing opportunities to girls and women. Maybe it's most accurate to describe The Women's Movement of that era as "a giant leap forward" in a society/world that had previously pretty much been dragging its collective feet.
To give you an idea of how little progress had been made by the time I was in secondary school, there was very little by way of athletic programs for girls throughout my secondary-school years. As I'll get into in future posts, the matter of athletic programs for girls was the least of girls'/women's problems. Since this is only the introduction to "Unfinished Feminism", however, I won't get too far into the state-of-affairs for girls and women of my age and that era. The point here isn't what was going on at that time. It's that I became and a teen and young adult at a time when so many things were beginning to change for women.
So, by the time I reached my late teens/very early twenties and was of the age when most people young are figuring out who/what they will be "as an adult", I was looking at path that offered enough possibilities that it required, perhaps, a little more figuring-out than the same age had required of women a little older than I was. I'll get more into that aspect of things at some later time as well.
There are so many things I've wanted to write about women's rights and The Women Movement over the years; and as the years have added up, there have been more and more added to my list of things about which to write as well. That's one reason I decided to set up "Unfinished Feminism", but it not the primary one. No, my primary reason for putting this site together is that with approximately forty years having passed since The Women's Movement (and with my living those years as a former young girl who once was so sure that The Women's Movement would mean I'd live my life with equality not enjoyed by women of previous generations), barely a week goes by when I'm not made painfully aware of how little progress has been made by/on behalf of women.
Oh, a lot of laws, policies and public attitudes have changed since the 1960's (at least in countries like the US). There's no doubt about that. Women have, of course, made some real progress since those days. Still, things like laws, policies, and public attitudes are "surface things" in a society. They're the things we can all see; and when there has been something about any of them that has needed some fixing, they're the easiest things to fix (even if fixing them hasn't been all that easy, by any means).
The thing is, for all the progress that has been made by women over the decades (and there's no doubt about it a lot of progress has been made), what may well be some of the most serious and insidious prejudice and/or oppression towards women may make up a percentage of "what needs to be fixed" that would shock most people (including a lot of women).
The Women's Movement, that feminsim so often associated primarily with the later 1960's and early 1970's, was a start - a beginning, that giant lead forward. The problem, as I see it, however, is that far too many people today overestimate the progress that has been made by women. Much of the perceived progress is a matter of lip service, on-paper laws and policies (the value of which should not be underestimated, of course) and fixing a lot of the problems that have been on the surface - not the ones beneath that surface.
That's what "Unfinished Feminism" is about.
As a second-wave Baby Boomer, the women who had become well known (and both respect and detested) for their very public and pivotal roles in The Women's Movement had already cut some substantial paths for their slightly younger "sisters". As a result, as I reached adulthood and looked down that path that I saw as my future as a woman, I saw possibilities that women not all that much older than I had not seen.
This isn't to suggest, by any means, that I "had it made" by the time I reached adulthood. The Women's Movement, after all, wasn't something that took place in a matter of a few years. It was more something that came into full swing and became the beginning of many changes that would take place in society, as well as offer increasing opportunities to girls and women. Maybe it's most accurate to describe The Women's Movement of that era as "a giant leap forward" in a society/world that had previously pretty much been dragging its collective feet.
To give you an idea of how little progress had been made by the time I was in secondary school, there was very little by way of athletic programs for girls throughout my secondary-school years. As I'll get into in future posts, the matter of athletic programs for girls was the least of girls'/women's problems. Since this is only the introduction to "Unfinished Feminism", however, I won't get too far into the state-of-affairs for girls and women of my age and that era. The point here isn't what was going on at that time. It's that I became and a teen and young adult at a time when so many things were beginning to change for women.
So, by the time I reached my late teens/very early twenties and was of the age when most people young are figuring out who/what they will be "as an adult", I was looking at path that offered enough possibilities that it required, perhaps, a little more figuring-out than the same age had required of women a little older than I was. I'll get more into that aspect of things at some later time as well.
There are so many things I've wanted to write about women's rights and The Women Movement over the years; and as the years have added up, there have been more and more added to my list of things about which to write as well. That's one reason I decided to set up "Unfinished Feminism", but it not the primary one. No, my primary reason for putting this site together is that with approximately forty years having passed since The Women's Movement (and with my living those years as a former young girl who once was so sure that The Women's Movement would mean I'd live my life with equality not enjoyed by women of previous generations), barely a week goes by when I'm not made painfully aware of how little progress has been made by/on behalf of women.
Oh, a lot of laws, policies and public attitudes have changed since the 1960's (at least in countries like the US). There's no doubt about that. Women have, of course, made some real progress since those days. Still, things like laws, policies, and public attitudes are "surface things" in a society. They're the things we can all see; and when there has been something about any of them that has needed some fixing, they're the easiest things to fix (even if fixing them hasn't been all that easy, by any means).
The thing is, for all the progress that has been made by women over the decades (and there's no doubt about it a lot of progress has been made), what may well be some of the most serious and insidious prejudice and/or oppression towards women may make up a percentage of "what needs to be fixed" that would shock most people (including a lot of women).
The Women's Movement, that feminsim so often associated primarily with the later 1960's and early 1970's, was a start - a beginning, that giant lead forward. The problem, as I see it, however, is that far too many people today overestimate the progress that has been made by women. Much of the perceived progress is a matter of lip service, on-paper laws and policies (the value of which should not be underestimated, of course) and fixing a lot of the problems that have been on the surface - not the ones beneath that surface.
That's what "Unfinished Feminism" is about.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
A Note From This Blog Author
As I continue to overhaul much (most, actually) of the online-writing (blogs/accounts) that I've done on a casual/free-time basis, I'm finding that the last pages that seem to be getting my attention are blogs that I set up with a focus on a single subject/theme. This is one of those blogs.
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