Juli Moody pulled a 25,000 pound semi-tractor 75 feet in nearly half a minute (Record Setter, 2015). Maria Tobar holds the world record of the most consecutive push-ups (Record Setter, 2015). Towson University’s own alumna, Kacy Catanzaro, completed the qualifying course for American Ninja Warrior Dallas. Marry T. Barra is the CEO of General Motors Co. Christy Walton, the richest woman in the world, has a net worth that is estimated at 41.7 billion dollars (Forbes, 2015). Women have proven that they can be strong, fast, smart, wealthy, they can be anything—so why are they still so far behind in leadership, finances, athletics, and more?
It is no secret that statistically, women are nowhere near the level of involvement or payment as men in many categories. Currently, women make up 18.5% of Congress, 20% of Senators, and 18.2% of Representatives; and must I point out that we have yet to have a female president or vice president (NWPC, 2010). Currently women only hold 4.8% of CEO positions at S&P and Fortune 500 Companies (Catalyst, 2015). Although women make up nearly half of the workforce and have more college and graduate degrees than men, on average women earn 22% less (IWPR, 2010). As for athletics, women represent about 40% of athletes, but only receive 4% of media coverage (Winegar, 2013). So why is this?
There are many women who exist today that would gladly place the blame on men for every struggle that women have experienced. We could point the finger and say that men objectify women or see them as lesser beings, but is that completely fair when there are women who participate in “slut shaming” or are the first to say sexist comments such as “you throw like a girl”? Women often tear down other women, seeing beauty and other superficial aspects as a competition, further objectifying themselves. According to an article by Cultural Bridges to Justice, this could be due to an “internalized sexism,” which is when women learn to follow the behaviors that are described as stereotypes. The article explains that “For the sexist system to be maintained and passed onto the next generation, we all must believe the messages (lies and stereotypes) to some degree, and collude with sexism by performing our assigned roles.”
I recently read an article “I Am a Mother of Two Children and I Cannot (and Will Not) Support Feminism.” According to one self-proclaimed anti-feminist, Tara Kennedy-Kline, she can’t support feminism because it has transformed from female empowerment to a list of rules which suppress masculinity (2014). She explains, “I am encouraging my sons to tell girls when they think those girls look beautiful. I love that my boys want to surprise me (and eventually their partners) with gifts, and the spontaneous hug or peck on the cheek from time to time to show their love. But, the latest campaigns by the feminist movement are telling boys they are wrong if they do these things” (Kennedy-Kline, 2014). I could explain several ways in which men contribute to the suppression of women, but the most concerning to me is when women do. It is difficult for me to see women such as Kennedy-Kline tear down feminism, saying it has “changed into something degrading, offensive, accusatory and opposed to the morals and messages I am teaching my kids” because they are hurting themselves and other women in the process. I believe the negative reactions to feminism are mainly due to misconceptions. Feminism does not mean a hatred of men, chivalry, or expression of sexuality, and it does not mean a list of “rules”, it simply means equality for both women AND men. Does this often mean we need to empower women in order to reach that equality? The answer is yes; however, it does not mean putting down men in the process.
Women frequently look to men to place blame for a sexist society, but often overlook how they contribute to the suppression of their own sex through competition with other women and a tendency of internalized sexism. There are so many incredible women destined to impact the world, but other women are making it even harder for them to succeed than it already is! We need to encourage women to become more involved in athletics, finances, leadership, etc. and realize if one of us succeeds, it means all of us do. We will not be able to do this by attaching definitions of hatred to the word feminism or deeming ourselves anti-feminists, but through teaching future generations they are capable of anything.
References
Catalyst. (2015). Women CEOs of the S&P 500. Retrieved from http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-ceos-sp-500
Culture Bridges to Justice. (2011). Internalized sexism / internalized misogyny. Retrieved from http://www.culturalbridgestojustice.org/programs/sexism/internalized-sex…
Forbes. (2015). 20 richest women 2015. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=richest+woman+in+the+world
Institute for Women’s Policy Research. (2010). Pay equity and discrimination. Retrieved from http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination
Kennedy-Kline, T. (2014). I am a mother of two children and I cannot and (and will not) support feminism. Thought Catalog. Retrieved from http://thoughtcatalog.com/tara-kennedy-kline/2014/11/i-am-a-mother-of-tw…
National Women’s Political Caucus. (2010). Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.nwpc.org/statistics
Record Setter. (2015). Female world records. Retrieved from https://recordsetter.com/female-world-records
Winegar, E. (2013). The statistics behind media coverage and female athletes. TPT. Retrieved from http://tptmn.org/2013/11/26/the-statistics-behind-media-coverage-and-fem…
Image: wowmoscow.net