Gloria Steinem, born in 1935, said "A liberated woman is one who has sex before marriage and a job after". This phrase has been on my mind--I mean, obviously, I'm not running around having sex to prove societal conventions wrong. But that is my choice. What do I do to figuratively stick it to the man though?
I live a pretty traditional life--my father went to work all day, my mom stayed at home--although my mom has always worked for home on the side--indeed, she has more education than my dad. What do I do in my life that reflects my liberation?
I guess there are the small things--I call guys on it when they say things that are out of line (...most of the time), I question Sunday school teachers as they preach the same old sexist "doctrine" (silently)... I don't know.
Sometimes I don't feel very feminist. Then I go to church, like I did today. Relief Society was centered on why we need to protect our husbands and teenage sons from the evils of the world, especially pornography. She exhorted us that when the Victoria Secret Catalog arrives, we should rush to get it out of our house, so it won't corrupt their tender minds, because it is their "nature" to be tempted by that. Gag me with a spoon. If they want to look at porn, they'll google it. If you block it, they'll use a proxy. If you block every existing proxy (impossible, trust me, kids get around it), they'll go to a friend's house, a library, an internet cafe, something. If you try to mother your husband, he is going to be bitter. Eventually, every helicopter parent's kid grows up, and then that son or daughter has to live on their own--and when the Victoria Secret Catalog comes, you're not going to be there to say "Shield your eyes!!!!!!!". I'm all for protecting your families, but the fact that she pushed for so much "protection" over actually teaching them how hurtful it can be, and the fact that she never once mentioned their daughters, and that women can be affected by these temptations too... Ugh!
Call me a feminist!
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