WHEN I WAS a child, I often wondered what it would be like to have a time machine that could take me back to past centuries, to see what life was like back then. I got that opportunity last Wednesday when I attended "Are We Getting it Right?", a debate over the continued existence of women's studies programs at universities across the country. Jennifer Roback Morse, a woman who runs from progress as if it were a rabid dog, advocated the dissolution of what most of academia accepts and appreciates as an intellectual discipline. Despite her clever catch phrases, Morse still epitomized the ever-smaller group of barnacles on the ship of progress.
For a woman who admittedly had never stepped foot in a Studies in Women and Gender (SWAG) course, Morse had quite strong opinions about the merits of the academic program. According to her, the SWAG department's mantra is that "women and men are the same -- except women are better." This exemplifies a favorite tactic of antifeminists: posit ridiculous, heated claims about the supposed goals of feminists in order to escape discussing the real issues. Of course, any feminist will tell you that they do not have problems with all individual men. Feminists strive to influence public policy and social thought so that every woman -- and man -- has the opportunity to govern her or his own life and not feel exploited or oppressed by the current patriarchal socioeconomic and political system in place. In layman's terms, every person should have equal opportunity to pursue his or her own dreams, whether it is becoming a CEO or a parent.
Morse also had some very bizarre ideas on "manliness" that feminists continue to fight as well. Morse contended that parents needed to "raise men to be manly." Does that mean a boy has to throw a football with great spin and arc in order to become a manly man? Should they start hunting for their own meat again? How archaic. Most feminists, like the average person, would like their husbands to be honorable, trustworthy, caring and responsible. That's what most men look for in their significant others as well. A woman doesn't have to chair the PTA and a man doesn't need to lift weights to be a fine human being. Again, feminism teaches that every person should feel content in his or her own individuality and not feel inferior if they do not fit preconceived norms of what a good woman or man should be.
Most of the debate centered on the idea of marriage as the foundation of society. The most telling comment Morse made that evening was when she referenced her own marriage. She said she stopped looking for her own perfect man and instead focused on finding a man who was "good enough." The obvious clause following was "to procreate with." Morse later voiced her concern about the rising number of divorces occurring among adults today. She failed to make the logical connection that the reason most of the divorce initiators were the wives was not because they suddenly fell in love with bell hooks and became raging feminists; rather, they adopted her own mantra: find a man who was "good enough." Perhaps feminist women today find it more challenging to live with autonomy and self-awareness, but at the same time, they know what makes them happy now rather than waking up to their husbands twenty years later and finding out the emperor has no clothes. Regardless of what sexists like Morse believe, most feminists want love just as much as them. They just don't settle for the not-so-storybook image of the "good enough" guy. They look for soul mates.
Amy Richards, the debater representing the feminist viewpoint, opened with the statement that feminism is about "liberating all as individuals," not just about women but men as well. If a woman decides to be a full time stay-at-home mother, that's great. The whole point of feminism is making sure that same woman feels that the decision to stay home was her own decision, not one forced upon her. What's so scary about that? Morse and her ilk might find it easier to conjure up images of bra-burning, man-hating women, but until they realize feminists today look like your average educated men and women, they will continue to look laughable and hopelessly beholden to a Neanderthal worldview.
Marta Cook is a Cavalier Daily Associate Editor. She can be reached at mcook@cavalierdaily.com.
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