Reply #26: There's a new feminism out there

[Logansquare]

In the 70s there was a lot of anger toward men in general. It was justified, too. I remember the kind of oppression ordinary women just learned to accept. A male car dealer wouldn't sign a car title with my mother's name, even though she provided the down-payment. My very bright sister was talked out of going to law school by every authority figure in her life; when she went to the school counselor's office, he gave her brochures on becoming a teacher or a nurse. My aunt was told pointedly that she couldn't get a raise because the "family men" in her company needed raises, and she didn't.

Things have gotten a lot better in the U.S. for women, but conditions for women in other parts of the world are still atrocious. And lest we forget, the religious right would like to push womens' reproductive rights back to the 50's, if possible. Young women (and men) today have had the good fortune of being raised by the first generation of feminists. They are focused on improving the rights of women not just in the U.S., but around the world. They want equal wages in the U.S., but they also want to stop bride burning in India, and genital mutilation in the Sudan, and the trafficking of women in Eastern Europe.

These kids make me feel proud to say "Hell yes I'm a feminist!"