Yesterday marked the official launch of Huffington Post Women, which, in Vixely’s mind, is a major media triumph. The lead article by actress and activist Marlo Thomas, “Who Will Be Them for a New Generation of Girls?”, explored the question of who will be the Gloria Steinem or Betty Friedan of the Gen Y era, both of whom blazed the trail for women’s rights in the 1970s. The article describes the fight women endured just a few decades ago to be afforded the same opportunities as men, both in society and business as well as under the law. Women in the 1960s and 1970s truly fought for their equal rights – the right to earn the same compensation as men (which is still a struggle), to take birth control, and even the right to wear pants to work. Then, women had to battle to break the mold of “homemaker” and “housewife” to be taken seriously in the workplace and to change the expectations of women in American culture. As a result, women today have a range of options, from where they go to college to their profession, with many women just as comfortably in search of the domestic life. The article also pointed to the importance of women lifting other women up, and that there is power in numbers. We couldn’t agree more!
We hear some women wonder where the “bra burners” and feminists are in today’s female youth and the sentiment that women aren’t as fiery as they once were about their sexuality. Now that women have more choices, perhaps there is an inherent dilution or neutralizing effect in women’s collective struggle? That doesn’t mean young women aren’t every bit as aware as their female predecessors of their social gender roles – or questioning of them. Vixely is happy to be reminded that female empowerment was an important part of America’s recent past, and that the quest remains for its future leaders.
