The death of Betty Friedan last month gave many of us the opportunity to reflect on the current status of women in American society. While much progress has been made, thanks in part to the catalytic effect of The Feminine Mystique on the groundswell of activism that followed, there is still work to be done. The issues of reproductive rights, pay equity, and domestic violence are just a few of the areas in which activists continue to press for change. Women continue to be under-represented in many professional fields, notably the sciences, and are in the minority ranks of corporate and media leaders.
In a concerted effort to raise the voices of the blogosphere in chorus on this subject, March 8, which is International Women’s Day, has been declared Blog Against Sexism Day. According to the website of organizer vegankid, Blog Against Sexism Day was inspired by December’s Blog Against Racism Day:
…it was decided that for at least one day we would try to focus the blogosphere on another evil: sexism. While those that write about sexism on a regular basis are gladly asked to join in, we encourage those that never or rarely talk about this important topic to join in. There are no guidelines. All that is asked is that you write at least a little something against sexism. We especially encourage men to challenge themselves and write about the topic.
A 26-year-old web designer/developer with an interest in writing about gender identity and gender oppression, vegankid is a relatively new blogger who has been an activist for the past nine years, and says about the organized effort, “While I felt it would be nice to have a day of talking explicitly about the topic, I was really looking forward to the possibility of all the comments discussions that could spring from this…I like the idea of everyone’s voice being on the same page for a day. And challenging some folks to go outside of their box to write about a topic that greatly and negatively affects all of us.” As of this writing, 162 bloggers have signed up to participate.
The Internet allows all of us to have a soapbox. The ability to put a lot of those soapboxes on the same street corner for a day to raise our voices about issues that should matter to all of us is an opportunity not to be missed. I hope you’ll be taking part in the conversation.
Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
I think this is a necessary and compelling topic, Lisa. I have always been annoyed with the way my fellow males treat women, and now as the father of a little girl I am even more sensitive to the matter.
She has already (at 4 years old) been a victim of sexism. On the playground, she is told she can't play with the boys; in the classroom, the boys are "rough" with her and push her and other girls around; even in our own family, the boy cousins won't let the girls play certain games.
So this is more than a worthy issue. It is crucial for us to get to the children early and discuss this matter in a meaningful way; otherwise, the little conflicts in school and playground work their way into mature relationships, the workplace, and marriages.
2 - Lisa McKay
Thank you for those comments, Victor. I hope you'll consider blogging about it today, even briefly.
3 - Natalie Bennett
I've put up my modest contribution and this also seems to be a great place to spread the word about the Carnival of Feminists No 10, which is up today, in a nice case of convergence, on Indianwriting.
4 - Ritchie Rich
Feminists make me sick. Men and women are not equal. Men cannot have babies and women cannot be firemen, for the same reason. They are not physically capable.
5 - zingzing
ritchie... that's not what feminism is about. they don't want to be men, they want to be equal to men on political, social, and personaly levels.
of course, there are strains of feminism that go further... but you could say that about everything.
if men and women were equal on a physical level, women would beat men like you into a pulp. and you would love them for it.
6 - Victor Lana
Lisa, I just submitted a post. I know it is late, but I couldn't get it done any time sooner. Thanks for inspiring me to write something.
7 - bharath
Oh I just did it yesterday for another reason. all the same. Its a very relevant issue that concerns all of us.
Harassment: didn't you know?
and Will Harassment stop with us?