These past few months, even years, I have seen feminism make a comeback with a punch. Until recently, I have played along with the idea of equality in women’s rights and what we deserve. After doing more research into the idea I’ve realized they aren’t fighting for what I deem to be not only politically correct but morally right.
Do I feel that men and women should be equal partners in every shape and form of the word? Absolutely. However, I do not feel that this means that women are men and men are women. We each have innate desires and traits about us that simply are not the same – yet when working side by side we are able to amplify such talents to better ourselves and our communities. Men and women are different mentally, emotionally, and physically. Yet why had “different” become such a terrible way to be viewed? I am quite thankful my husband and I are equal partners yet we are very different in basically every way. These differences are what makes our partnership work. For us, there are even certain household duties I prefer to perform while my husband does the other. At work, I enjoy doing the more detail-oriented tasks while my male counterpart enjoys putting forth a product at rapid speed. While this is not the same for every woman out there, I feel the principle is the same. We are equals and should be treated as such however, we are not the same.
Of course there’s always the issue of military officers, police officer positions, and many other jobs as such. Yes. Men and women should have an equal opportunity to have whatever position they desire. However, the standards should not be lowered simply because a woman wants to have the job she has never been permitted to have before. If you want to be the highest ranking military officer, then great! I hope you get there! I also hope you realize you must put in just the same amount of physical and emotional work as every other individual – male or female – who has been there before you.
As I have spoken with women who call themselves Feminists I have come to see feminism as fighting for careerism. I’ll be honest with you, I absolutely love working. I grew up in a home with a working mother and I know how much her career means to her as well. While I don’t have children I was able to watch my mother growing up balance her work life and home life. I knew without a shadow of a doubt we were and still are her first and foremost priority. I would watch her work long hours at night just so she could attend our activity functions after school. She made sure there was food on the table and a comforting place for us to sleep. Not once have I ever doubted if I came before her career.
As feminism continues their fight I see more and more often how little of a priority the family has become. To compete with men, feminism is telling us to put our career ahead of our family. To put even our personal growth on hold to get into the career we know we want and simply must have. According to a Harvard Study conducted in 2015, 43% of career aspiring women without children wish they could have what they call a “real family life.” Yet as we push the thoughts away of having a family as the pursuit of our career becomes our focus, we age. As we age our bodies simply cannot do what they used to be capable of – which includes childbearing. Does this mean we should all be stay at home moms? Of course not – it’s not for everyone. However, anyone could find a way to be a working mother if they really wanted their family. Feminism is telling us you either work or you don’t. There’s no middle ground.
I want to give a shout out to all those working mothers, stay at home moms, women simply trying to find themselves is this crazy world, and those of us who have our answer that the time isn’t quite right yet to start our own little families. Don’t let the rules of society define who you are and where you should be going with your life. We each are individuals. I had a teacher once explain how because I am a woman I am victimized and oppressed. I have never allowed myself to feel this way. Stand up and fight for whatever it is you feel is worth fighting for. Wherever you are and whoever you are, do good.
