In 1974, I interviewed with a high school principal for a job opening for a school counselor. After a short Q & A, including the customary inquiries about my plans for having children, he told me, "Well, you're mighty cute, but I'm looking for a man to fill the position." I thanked him and walked out without a word, because that was just the way it was.
When I had graduated from high school in 1966, I chose one of the few career options available for most women. In 1969 I became a teacher, as did many of my female peers. I never even pondered the fact that all my bosses were white males, though most of our teachers were female. Nor did I think about the fact that there were no black or brown teachers in my school, even though the all-black high school in town had closed, and those students were now in my school. That was just the way it was.
A few years later, I applied for my first credit card from Dillard's department store but was turned down. The card had to be in my husband's name, even though I was earning enough to easily pay off my balance each month. Yet I still felt fortunate to have a college degree and a career I enjoyed. My mother had endured 19 years of a miserable, abusive marriage because she could not financially support us on her own. She finally left my dad, her self-esteem and bank account in tatters, when she was no longer financially responsible for me.
Decades have passed, and laws, including the landmark Title IX, have opened up educational and career possibilities for women by making discrimination against them illegal. Because of landmark legislation in the 60's and 70's, women can now choose any career they wish to pursue, attend a formerly all-male college, join the military, and be protected from discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Yet, the prevailing attitude in our country, after all these decades, is that a strong woman is aggressive, a beautiful woman is an airhead, and women who sleep around are sluts. No such labels for men. As recently as the last campaign in 2024, Harris detractors claimed she slept her way to the top, while Trump got a pass, because boys will be boys, though it had been proven in court that he's a sexual predator. Even other women are hypercritical ... Melania's hat, Kim's hindquarters, Selena's weight, Miley's outrageous outfit, my neighbor's heavy clown makeup, me wearing holey jeans - so inappropriate for my age. The list goes on and on. And lest you think I am disparaging those moms who choose to stay at home, I am not. That's the hardest job in the world; I've tried it. The issue is CHOICE.
Gradually, through the last decade or so, due to the influence of Christian Nationalism and MAGA support of Donald Trump, we are being pushed back into the kitchen and commanded to obey our husbands and do the job God created us to do - produce more babies, white babies preferably. First it was SCOTUS's revocation of Roe Vs. Wade, allowing state governments to force a woman to carry a pregnancy to term, no matter the circumstances, sadly resulting in women's health care, in my state of Texas, to deteriorate dramatically as OBGYNs flee the state for fear of losing their license. Women's healthcare clinics have slammed their doors shut. There's even talk in my state legislature of abolishing birth control and IVF. All of this without any provision for caring for these multitudes of children born into poverty, neglect, and, God forbid, abuse. All of this without forcing fathers, from the moment of the child's birth, to legally support their child. Our Attorney General, Ken Paxton, is far more interested in throwing a woman in jail for trying to get an abortion than he is in pursuing a deadbeat dad. Believe me, I've taken many a fruitless trip to family court, more than once.
Thanks to Republicans making DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) a political football that has now been totally kicked out of the stadium, the game is over. Women once again face the reality of being pushed to the end of the line as rich, white males make all the rules in favor of, guess who? But wait. According to our leaders, we're all on an equal playing field now...right? ...right? All I can say is, "Ladies, get in that kitchen, and get your buns in the oven. And don't forget to smile. You look so much prettier when you do."
Don't even get me started on people of color, the disabled, and the LGBTQ community. Welcome, my friends, to the 1950s. That's just the way it is.
Comments