Recently, when I was working at a local restaurant, a customer spilled a drink on the floor.
Because it was my job, I got down on the floor with a towel and scrubbed the floor to clean the sticky residue off the tile. Suddenly, a middle-aged man approached me and said, “You will make a wonderful housewife some day.”
He didn’t make this remark in a demeaning way. He seemed to genuinely mean it as a compliment. I smiled at him and simply relied, “Thank you, but I will not be a housewife. I plan on working in sales or running my own business.”
This is an example of why our society still needs feminism, even though women are allowed to attend college, vote and drive. Our society is still tainted with a sense of sexism that existed in our grandparents’ generation in terms of expectations for gender roles.
Comedian Katie Goodman recently released a video of her performance of her original song, “Sorry Babe, You’re a Feminist.” In the song, she references an actress who claimed she was not a feminist. The video also displays quotes from other actresses who say they are not feminists because they support men.
Goodman points out feminism is not about women being better than men, but about the concept of the two genders being equal in all parts of life.
I graduated in high school with a grade point average that was either equal to or higher than that of most males in my class. I am attending a great university. I have interned and obtained a job in the field of sales, which was and still is in most cases dominated by males. Despite all this, it’s still assumed that I will soon be a housewife.
Feminism supports the idea that women should be whatever they choose to be without any expectations or a certain ideal to fit into. If a woman wants have a business career, she should be able to do so without others being surprised or confused. Similarly, women who want to be housewives should be able to do so without being labeled as a “normal woman.”
Feminism also supports the same ideas for men. A couple I know recently found out they are expecting a baby. The mother decided she wants to continue her career. The father wants to dedicate all his time to raising the child full-time. Although this couple is happy with their decision, they both received criticism for breaking gender stereotypes.
Our society should be in a place that supports these two people, no matter what choices they make in terms of their occupations. That is what the idea of feminism is trying to achieve. The rights for any man and any woman to not be forced to fit into a box of gender stereotypes.
Hopefully, feminism will bring our society to a place where a woman who is scrubbing the floor will be told that she will make a great homeowner, not a housewife.
eshrack@indiana.edu
