Post-Feminist America

Two events in the past few weeks have captured my attention – the announcement that Sweet Briar College, a well-regarded southern liberal arts college for women, is closing its doors after the class of 2015 graduates as well as the Broadway closing of “The Heidi Chronicles,” a 1988 Pulitzer Prize-winning dramedy starring “Mad Men’s” Elizabeth Moss, about the trials and tribulations of feminism in the 70s and 80s.

For me these twin closings underscore that these are the best of times for women in America – and the worst of times.  Although too few women crack the glass ceiling of their professions, more and more are doing do every day. Good news, yes? And while it’s true we only make 75% of what our male peers make (ahem), it’s also true that more women today earn as much or more than their spouses and are fundamentally important contributors to their families’ wealth.  Bravo, ladies!!

And yet, and yet…

We have a powerful conservative constituency in this country that seems to want to slowly undo gains for women that have been hard won over a period of decades.  But women sometimes don’t help their cause either:  In our workplaces, our social networks, or at the ballot box, we don’t always stand up for our bodies or ourselves, or for what we contribute and the value of that contribution.  Sadly, it seems like some of us secretly don’t think they’re worth it and the risk of “complaining” is too great.  Not good news, as TV personality and Know Your Worth author Mika Brzezinski might say. 

Finally, the hyper-sexualization of American society (and I really do blame the media for this – and no, I’m not a prude) isn’t helping many of our sons or daughters navigate puberty with self-awareness and confidence.  The Rolling Stone/UVA controversy shows how hard it is to handle the difficult task of growing up without caving in to social pressures or old sexual stereotypes.  Surely, the epidemic of rape on college campuses should startle every parent of college age kids – and their student-children -- into action against this grim state of affairs.

Which leads me to Sweet Briar.  There is still an important and relevant place in today’s America for women’s academic institutions.  They build confidence in one’s capabilities without the distractions of testosterone.  They build capacity for female self-acceptance and understanding without a lot of the “mean girl” culture that can exist at larger schools with sororities, etc.  Women’s colleges are a safe place to become the woman you dream of being – and some women need that kind of space and safety to grow in.  Sweet Briar faculty members and deep-pocketed alumni are trying to find ways through the courts to keep the doors open at their beloved institution.  I hope they succeed, but I'm not optimistic. 

All of this has left me wondering about our post-feminist society.  Have American women lost a little bit of the “fire in the belly” for  their continued progress?  Are those of us who remember the feminist movement indifferent or complacent in our later middle age because we fought and won the fight, sort of?  And are we, in turn,  passing along this indifference and complacency to our daughters?

I don't know -- but I feel uncomfortably close to answering "yes" to the above questions.  All that said, the LGTB movement gives me some hope for a future where men and women, regardless of their biology or self-identification, can stand on equal footing in society and in the workplace with a genuine mutuality of interest in success for their families, their communities, their country and each other.

At least I hope so.  A post-feminist girl can dream, can’t she?