Gender
(In)Equality
The Myth of the
Feminist Revolution
by Rosalie Osias
Like the French Revolution, it started of with a rush of adrenaline
and a genuine hope for changing the world. But, just like those who
stormed the Bastille, the feminist revolution consumed its young
while giving many a false hope for profound change. At the time, our
leaders correctly insisted that we were as good as men, and could do
anything that men could do. In what became a massive gender-wide
pep rally, they insisted that if we became educated and worked hard,
we too could enter any profession, access any corporate ofce. That
message, coupled with the arrival of the birth control pill and legalized
abortion, gave women a tremendous feeling of power.
With the hindsight that only historians can ofer, it will be noted
in the future that the feminist revolution was a heartbreaking failure.
It had such promise for millions of women, and yet only a handful
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actually benefted in the workplace. Feminist leaders bathed in
media exposure became famous and established their own fnancial
security at the head of an army that had no weapons, no strategy and
no strategic victories. The founders of the movement were self-proclaimed leaders, but most of them had never experienced the daily
grind of fghting male-run power centers, and most had never dealt
with the reality faced by millions of women in thousands of ofces.
They cheered when secretaries were called "assistants," mistaking this
name change for equality in the workplace.
Admittedly, these "leaders" instilled in us the desire to dream, but
little else. Sent into war against the male establishment with little
more than burnt bras, we were defeated with smirks, winks, paternal
pats on the ass and title changes.
courtesy of rosalie osias
Have you heard? The Feminist Revolution is over. We lost.