A Lady Laments About....Womens' Liberation
by Jennifer Philo

Please welcome another new writer to our every growing group - Jennifer. She will be writing - well, lamenting - each Tuesday here at FTTW.

iamman.jpgI am woman, hear me roar. A very notable line from a very notable song that was the anthem to womens' empowerment heard round the world 30 years ago. The last time I heard that song, I was watching television with the kids and after a forewarning from a dear friend, caught a glimpse of the remake; a Burger King ad focusing on a man who was "tired of chick food" and rallied a posse of other men who apparently were also tired of "chick food" and various other activities subsequently defined as "chick-like". I am man, hear my arteries clog as my waist-line expands in true American fashion.

Despite this ridiculous variation on Helen Reddys' soundtrack to bra burning, I found myself thinking about womens' liberation and what has happened over the past 30 years since the song was penned. Although I wasn't even a twinkle in my adolescent mother's eyes, I would be introduced to a world a little over a decade later that consequently took mom out of the apron for 8 hours, slapped a name tag on her and then sent her back home to retrieve the apron to prepare dinner for her family.

braburning.jpgI can't hold Helen accountable for being passionate about equality. I only wish her song came with a manual and an alternate version, "I am Man, Watch Me Iron". This way, once us women found our roar it would be loud enough for the men to be distracted from our now drooping breasts and bedroom eyes (only these bedroom eyes are from lack of sleep, not overactive sex drives). Womens' liberation certainly opened the door to a new frontier in career evolution, but it obviously forgot to point out the fine print at the bottom of the contract: equality in every aspect of life.

Twenty years later, Helen Reddy has become an icon of days gone by and our bras have returned with new frills and padding and, in some circumstances, edible versions of its equal partner, the panty. The foundation that would bring us equality hit a backlash as soon as Helen hit the first chords and has yet to find it's way out. Infiltrating the workforce was a severe hurdle, getting past the gender biased of designated male and female jobs was and still is. It wasn't easy breaking down the door of corporate America, but making a mean pot of coffee and typing 45 wpm wasn't quite what Helen had in mind, was it?

It wasn't as though no one had tried before the anthem was heard. Perhaps we'll all take a moment to pause and remember Susan B. Anthony, pioneer for womens' suffrage. She dedicated her life for equal opportunities for women. I briefly remember hearing about her in Social Studies, along with countless other women such as Dorothea Dix, Sandra Day O' Connor and Joan of Arc, not in that particular order. All examples of courageous women, some knowingly fighting on behalf of women everywhere, others fighting on the front lines along side men (later depicted by hollywood starlets in three hour epics), and all of them crossing the boundaries between what defined a man and what defined a woman.

I work in a male predominant field, selling hardware and striving to blend with my male co-workers. Not an easy task when you have breasts, but it's a job. The hardware world was one I was not prepared to enter; Cosmo never mentioned what a drill chuck or a Miter Saw was (unless you count the article "How to Make His Drill Chuck and His Miter Saw"; hardly a lesson in power tools and accessories). I can't blame this oversight on Cosmo though. In a nation so hell-bent on making women think about beauty, babies and Botox, it's hard to find room for more than just a refreshing article on how to balance career and homecosmo.jpg while still looking like Jessica Simpson (let the record show I do NOT look like Jessica Simpson after reading said article). And while 30 years ago not shaving was a sign of empowerment, not shaving these days reflects more of a motivational impairment or a severe lack of time.

It's not as though balancing home and career is new either for us women. Susan B. Anthonys' life-long politcal partner, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was married and mothered a number of children yet still made the history books in her fight for equality. I'm lucky if I can balance my check book before reading my kids a bedtime story. Have we, as women, become mere shadows of those who came before us? Would Susan, or Helen for that matter, turn their heads in shame looking ahead at the generations they worked so hard for?

I don't know the answers to these questions. I know that Websters' defines liberate as "to release from slavery" or "to secure equal rights". Well, I can vote, I can work and apparently I can roar. Sad truth is, I'm so damn tired I can't move. Liberating, isn't it?

Jennifer collects Susan B. Anthony quarters

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Comments

Hey Jenn!
Great article! Welcome to FTTW! I can't wait to read more. Its like getting an honest history lesson for once. I, personally, wasn't aware of all of the Women's Lib info and now I'm glad I know it. Today, I think I'll go braless!

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Welcome to the fray Jenn!

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Welcome Jennifer!

I really liked this. Nice one.

Equality in one area of many is not equality at all. Salaries are generally still pretty far apart for a male and a female who work the same job.

And the equality paradox is about the only thing that's applied equally, across gender, race religion etc. Everyone wants to be treated equally, but nobody wants to lose anything in the exchange.

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Many thanks to you all for a warm welcome and for your comments!

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Welcome aboard, Jennifer!

Great first article, even though it got that song stuck in my head.

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Welcome to the family... Nice job.

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You think she's just a talented writer, but she's HOT too and the best looking dude down at the hardware store! *chuckles*

(Its okay, we're friends.)

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Hey, Jenn! Just remember that there are those who ask especially for you to help them at the store! Keep up the great work - at the store and in your writing!

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Welcome to the family, Jenn! Very cool first article, I'll get in line for that one. For those who aren't blessed by knowing this lady personally, I add that besides being exhausted from chasing two little boys, a hyperactive dog and her customers, she is also a very loving and generous soul, one of the most down-to-earth people I know, and a seriously sexy redhead - ask any guy at the hardware store: he won't be able to describe her haircut, but he will be able to tell you what was printed on her shirt! Gotcha!!

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It's nice to look back on these comments and remember the friends I've had on my journey and the friends that I hope to make as it continues. My thanks to Jo, Pat and Holly for being the friends I look to for support and reassurance and my thanks to the FTTW community on a whole. I look forward to your comments in the future.

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Hi, darling daughter. Great article. Keep up the good work.

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Hi, darling daughter. Great article. Keep up the good work.

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I agree I also think she is a very sexy women. I should be careful because I am her boss. I just want to say that this was an excellent article
and I will look forward to reading more in the future.

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Hey Jenn
I like your article and a lot of what you say is humorous and true. I think I am an example of a " modern" woman. I have a great career and I have a great little family. I admit it is hard to balance the two but I am doing my best. I am one of those women who makes more money than her husband and is proud of the fact that I am able to support myself and largely my family alone. Hell I didnt go to a women's college (Russell Sage is the best!!!) to have a man support me:-) Keep up the good work and keep the awareness up for womens lib because it is important. Women can do anything tha men can do and most times better:-)Jessica

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