Time for Change

I’ve come to realize that the “Me Too” movement is just the tip of the iceberg. “Me Too” speaks of sexual harassment, actual rape, unwanted touches, threats of consequences “if you don’t comply”, and inappropriate sexually tainted language. But I’m thinking if we included uncomfortable social situations in which women feel pressured to look the other way, pretend they don’t hear or understand innuendoes, quickly remove themselves before things get out of control… well there’d be an even louder cacophony of sound arising around the world. Then, lets just add those times in which men exercise “male privilege”, not just in the work place but in the home as well, those times when women are simply told to hold their tongues, when they are told their opinions are stupid, unwanted, un-needed. Those times when the cornered man, even though he may recognize that he’s in a weak position, simply “puts his foot down” and gets away with it. Well, it is time for an attitude change.

In thousands of little ways, women unknowingly perpetuate the privilege that men have become accustomed to expect. We love them. They work hard. We make our homes a sanctuary from the world, a cozy, comfy place to be at ease. We do everything we can to make their lives a little less difficult. We willingly become their unpaid servants showering them with countless, largely unnoticed, entitlements.

This subservient role may be more prevalent in women of older generations. Economic and educational levels may also effect male/female relationships. Nevertheless our society is patriarchal. Our social organization is marked by the supremacy of the father in the family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line. It is controlled by men who have a disproportionately large share of power. Nearly every society on earth falls under this category! For centuries women have struggled to get an equal piece of the pie, but those in power, especially when threatened, cling to their status like an apple to its peel.

Most of the women I know would be happy if their contributions, along with those of men, were simply recognized and respected. They’d be happy if their ideas and observations were considered to be as valuable as those of men, providing a different, not worthless, perspective. It would be genuinely wonderful if our society did not equate worth with the ability to earn money, leaving women who do not earn (and for the most part cannot earn equally) in a subservient role. Can we not have respect for one another, respect our differences, our accomplishments, our strengths? Is there any reason, beyond the application of power, protection of status, for men to immediately disparage ideas, thoughts, or plans that are brought forward by a woman?  And, if a woman happens to have more to contribute, shouldn’t she be able to do so, without being told she is acting like a man? 

In many respects, men do not have it all that good. “Me Too” has almost become a witch hunt. They are being called on the carpet for words, not just actions, some of which may simply be flirtations, ground testing a woman's interest. And it needs to be said, women can make it very difficult for men to ignore their sexual attributes. I can't help but notice the half bare breasts and plunging “necklines” of some of the Hollywood women crying “Me Too”. Nevertheless, the “behavioral norms” of the past are no longer acceptable. It is definitely time for change.