Next Wednesday, the 26th of August, is Women’s Equality Day, commemorating the 95th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Take a moment to imagine, if you even can, that women were once denied the vote, because they were considered subject to men, superfluous in their household’s decision making, and incapable of the intellectual rigor needed for politics. Also, it was pointed out, women’s suffrage went against the laws of God.
Today’s conservative ideologues are still arguing against equality, not just for women, but for any person that does not meet their standard for “normal.” They no longer speak out boldly against women and others, but rather insinuate that there’s no fight left to be fought, that women have achieved equality already, and should just sit down.
It’s a slippery slope of logic, from the discredited extreme where women do not deserve (or want!) equality, through today’s argument that women have achieved equality, to the other extreme, wherein women have become the oppressors.
- Common 19th-Century Arguments Against Women's Suffrage, Neatly Refuted - Slate
- There is more gender equality than you think - USA Today
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Why Most Women Didn’t Want The Right To Vote - Return of Kings
Warning, this last one is pretty far down the dark cave of the “Manosphere”
Luckily, there are many of us working, fighting, and making ourselves heard on the subject of inequality, both in the United States and worldwide. Here are just a few of the facts:
- Gender Inequality In The U.S. Today - Trust Women
- The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Spring 2015) - AAUW
- What’s Holding Women Back? - The Economist
- Women in the world: Where the U.S. falters in quest for equality - CNN
- UN Women - Facts and Figures - The United Nations
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2015’s Best and Worst States for Women’s Equality - Wallethub
Kansas is #32, but #46 for “Workplace Environment”
But always, where the facts do not support their cause, the dogmas of religion and fear prop them up. MainStream was founded to oppose the encroachment of religion in the public sphere, precisely because religious beliefs brook no compromise. We fight for equal rights for everyone, regardless of gender, race, nationality or, yes, even political party.
MainStream is proud to support and participate in events for Women’s Equality Week, knowing that the struggle for equality has not yet ended.
