Ignorance has caused the awareness for the rights of women to be put on hold. Many Americans either know about the cause and choose to ignore the movement or support the cause but do not talk about it. According to Census Bureau 2011, over 50% of the United States was female in 2011. (1) If more than half the country is made up of women, why are women still not entirely equal to men? Are women not taking a stance for their own rights? Are they afraid to stand up for themselves? American women practicing not fighting for their own rights is similar to Oedipus choosing to ignore the truth of his destiny. In the Athenian tragedy Oedipus Rex, Sophocles writes "For kindred alone should see a kindred’s shame." (21) American women are living a lie much like the one Oedipus lived. Both Oedipus and the women of the United States are choosing to be ignorant of the truth, causing them to be ignorant of their role in the continuous downfall for future generations of women in America. Oedipus blamed others for his misfortune and role in the downfall of the city of Thebes while he was the one at fault. Because of the American women not taking a stance for their own rights, American women will continue to be "inferior" to men. Spoken by Tiresias in Oedipus Rex, "You yourself are the pollution of this country." (Sophocles 4) If American women do not stand up for themselves, they are almost as bad as the men discriminating against them. The discriminators will no longer be thought of as the pollution of America, but the ones not standing up for future victims. Ignorance is not bliss, if we choose to hold back our words we cause pain to not only ourselves, but others. Emerging from this ignorance will bring along suffering, but will end with knowledge and enlightenment.
Sophocles, and R. D. Dawe. Oedipus Rex. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1982. Print.
"USA QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." State and County QuickFacts. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2013. <http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html>.
Womn, We Are. "Women's History." We Are Women. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2013. < http://www.wearewoman.us/2012/03/history-of-womens-rights-in-united_18.html>.
While I do agree with the idea of equality between men and women, we must realize the situation is much like a prescription drug; it does great good when used in the situation, but we need to be careful with the dosage.
ReplyDeleteFor an example of "the overdose", we have the Equal Right Amendment, which makes EVERYTHING that men and women do completely equal. With this amendment in place, there would be no separate restrooms, no boys'/girls' schools, no gender specific scholarships, no differentiation between men and women in the military (meaning the same equipment, despite design for a specific sex, would be given to both), and many more unforeseen issues.
Therefore, I believe that the equality between men and women in the United States is a necessity, but I also think it is in our best interest to regulate the amount of equality so as to refrain from constraining our current freedoms.