Radical Feminism

Emma Goldman in 1917 wrote that economic equality would erase all the problems that exist between men and women. A woman who is not dependent upon a man for her economic well being has more freedom. The problem is that women, with very few exceptions are economically dependent upon men. Dismissing the woman who chooses to be a stay-at-home wife and mother, women are still dependent upon men for money. Most women in the workforce receive a salary that is established by the men who are in charge. Women, on the whole, make substantially less money for doing substantially identical work as their male counterparts.

While the ability to earn a living is now considered a basic right of women, the ability to demand equal pay for equal work is not. Until salaries are blind (that is, based wholely on either the job description or on the quality of of work and experience), women cannot claim to be equal. It strikes me as a pity that many women seem to be so concerened that they be allowed to hold the same jobs as men, such as firefighters, and fail to ask themselves why they want to do such a strenuous or difficult job and not be equally compensated.

Another aspect of the feminist/economic problem is that many women feel they no longer have a choice of whether or not to work outside the home. The feminist movement was supposed to give women a choice, but now it is expected that a successful women will not only be a wife and mother, but also a wage earner. If she does not work, she is lazy or a traitor to her gender. Betty Friedan discussed a woman in the 1950's who had a nervous breakdown because she was unable to breastfeed. Today, women are breaking under the strain of trying to "have it all". It is a hard question to answer; do I serve my family better by improving our economic status or by raising my own children. And when do I serve myself at all?

Nothing will be solved until both genders accept that there should not be defined roles for anyone, male or female. When wage-earners are evaluated solely on their ability, when homemakers (male or female) are accepted as contributing members of society, and when a person'w worth is not based solely on their paycheck, then women can consider that they have achieved that elusive equality.


2002 dawn