Stronger tagged me for
“What five things can I thank feminism for?”

Anyone who reads this blog or sees my comments on other blogs knows I’m an ardent feminist so I am happily responding.

1). Laws that protect women from predatory bosses who tell them they have to submit to unwanted sexual advances or lose their jobs. There was a time when a woman in that position was helpless.

2). Title IX – Every woman who does anything athletic is grateful that there is a law that demands that girls get the same benefits as boys when it comes to sports. I posted an inspirational video on the Complete Running Network and it features clips from a Rocky Movie juxtaposed against girls track. It’s a beautiful thing because it looks quite natural.

3). Freedom and support for abused women. Feminism is responsible for the growth in battered women’s shelters and laws to protect women against abusers

4). Laws that protect women from employers who won’t hire or promote them because “honey, you’ll just go get knocked up and quit”. The fact that the men they hire and train and promote might take all that investment and go to another company or might have health problems in the future is never a reason not to hire and promote men so there is no reason not to hire and promote women who are capable. I ended up a single mother with 3 kids and I am eternally grateful to be living in a time where I could earn enough money to support them.

5). A growing awareness that sexually forcing yourself on a woman under any circumstance is not okay. Date rape is a huge problem in this country (1 in 4 women have been the victim of rape or attempted rape and in 84% of the cases knew their attacker*) and women are taking all of the blame (they shouldn’t drink so much, they shouldn’t “Hook up”, they shouldn’t wear sexy clothes”, they were ‘asking’ for it). No woman ever ‘asks’ to have a pen1s (have to thwart icky searches) forcibly shoved in any of her orifices. I have faith that over the next several years feminism will successfully launch campaigns to encourage every man to feel a sense of disgust and shame at the very idea of taking advantage of a woman under any circumstance. “Doing a chick” because she is too drunk to have consensual sex will lose some appeal and you will still feel like men.

BONUS ROUND! – Feministing.com – I love this blog. It is staffed and primarily read by the next generation of feminists and I love them all and I love it that there is a next generation of feminists. Rock on.

I’m tagging all of you male bloggers for this. Any takers?

* See this study