Posted on 11/06/2007 7:25:06 AM PST by backhoe
I was quite surprised to learn last month that I am not a person.
An article in the Kingston Whig Standard by feminist Shari Graydon talked about the status of women in Canada, and it was entitled "Still Short of Full Personhood".
Ms. Graydon went on to describe herself as follows, "I am white, able-bodied, educated, childless, and married to a successful professional. I have connections, well-paid work and leisure time. Space has often been made for my voice. I am the kind of woman who people point to as evidence that the women's movement is no longer necessary."
Although it is not likely that I will ever attain Shari Graydon's quantity of "connections, well-paid work and leisure time", and I wouldn't dream of trading the blessing of my four children for the supposed advantage of being childless, I would like to assure Ms. Graydon that it is quite unnecessary for her to speak up for my "personhood".
I voluntarily left the workforce for 18 years to care for my children, but I am currently re-training in a male-dominated field, and not one person has ever suggested that my choices or opportunities should be limited because I am a woman. In fact, I would be willing to bet that current gender-based hiring practices will provide a better job market for me than for the young men who will be graduating with me.
I have never been threatened with stoning or beheading. I walk beside my husband instead of three steps behind, and I can wear whatever I want when I walk out the door in the morning.
Now, while it is certainly generous of Ms. Graydon to use her enviable social position to speak for all women, I think it would be much nicer if she consulted the rest of us about "our" message first. So, here is mine:
I have never expected my neighbours to pay for my childcare; I have the literary knowledge to understand that 'sons' in the national anthem is meant generically; I want to elect qualified Members of Parliament, not an arbitrary number of females; and I have no interest in 'taking back' a night that we haven't 'owned' since Cain killed Abel.
What I really care about is the women in the Middle East who are beaten, tortured and raped -- then stoned or hanged because they were raped. I care that clerics like Saudi Arabian Muslim Muhammad Al-'Arifi are appearing on television and instructing men on how to beat their wives. I care about innocent women who are victims of female "circumcision", and about the women in Iran who are risking their lives in their fight for the right to leave home without a veil.
My dream, Ms. Graydon, is that the women who claim to speak on my behalf would stop worrying so much about glass ceilings, pay equity and socialized daycare in North America, and instead use their platform to speak for the women who truly fall short of full personhood.
If you want to talk about freedom of choice, let's talk about women who don't have a choice about who they marry, what they wear, where they go, what they learn, where they work, or if they are even allowed to live.
There are many women in North America who feel blessed to live in a society that honours and respects us. We don't believe your assertions that any significant number of North American men like to pretend that "'no' means 'knock her unconscious first'", or that having children is a "sacrifice" we are making to produce "future taxpayers".
I would love to see feminists who are intellectually honest enough to speak up for their sisters in the Middle East. Their utter silence clearly demonstrates that North American feminists are motivated far more strongly by their liberal/socialist ideology than by any desire to speak up for women who truly have no voice.
My name is Connie Fournier. I am a mother. I am a person. And Shari Graydon does not speak for me.
Connie Fournier is co-owner of Canada's largest political discussion forum, Free Dominion, which boasts a membership of over 8,500, and gets nearly 2 million page views per month. She lives in Kingston Ontario with her husband Mark and her four teenagers, and is currently working on her second year in Computer Programming at St. Lawrence College.
Give it a read- you'll be glad you did.
Excellent
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Incidentally, the keynote speaker there was Laura Ingraham, whose fees are undoubtedly beyond the reach of volunteer grassroots groups these days.
Nice article Connie! (Hope she’s reading here!)
Connie speaks for a lot of women ( like my wife, Miss Emily ) and says things I'd like to have said.
The official "feminist movement" does not represent normal women- they are a bunch of angry malcontents.
Welcome back to Cyberspace. :-)
Thanks- Lordy, what a circus getting a guy with a truck and tools out to the house- yesterday, they were "scheduling"-- I called at nine, they called back at five. Once the repairman showed up today at lunch, it was fast-- then I had to do all the stuff I couldn't get done yesterday or this morning. Aggh!
Looking back on the history of the FRN now, I’d say it was a fair trade, national activism network, annual conventions, projects like Winter Soldier, nationwide protests...in exchange for screaming obscenities at a couple of Code Pink hags every week.
Patricia Ireland is fine with Mooselimb women being Chattle. Hey, Saddamn’s rape rooms never bothered her.
Pray for W and Our Victorious Troops
Well done, Connie! I do hope you’re reading this.
Appreciate your looking- I got the door fixed; now I’m trying to get The World’s Best Dog© to come back in the house...
I remember two moments in time when I realized that the feminists do not speak for me. I’m 59 and a lawyer so given that context.... when I was still an undergraduate in the late sixties, I went to a meeting which was supposed to be about feminism and it was instead about doing ones own vaginal exam. I actually think it was about trying to get young women to show old saggy women their parts. I declined. The second time was in a Taco Bell parking lot at the beginning of the first Gulf War and my dear husband finally talked me into listening to Rush Limbaugh. I’ve never looked back. The only feminists I’ve even considered in my camp have been the Feminists for Life. So, these elitist weirdo rich b*tches (and trust me I know a lot of them professionally) do not speak for me either.
Thanks, everyone! This was my first guest column for noapologies.ca...I’m really glad you liked it! :-)
Some of the best times in my life have been when I’ve had the opportunity to meet FReepers like Interesting Times and BobJ.
If we can swing it, Mark and I really want to go to CPAC this year, so we hope to see some of you again.
Connie, what I call "the alleged better half"-- Miss Emily, the wife- liked it, too.
Years ago, when she was but a child in college, the local feminist organization's representative approached her with an offer of membership, stating, "you're just the kind of woman we want..."
And she was quite angered, retorting,
"What- you think I'm a Lesbian? You think I hate men? Babies, too?"
That's the kind of impression those angry gals in the "feminist" bunch made, years ago, to the average woman.
They don't speak for her, at all.
They have their own malcontented agenda to promote, and nothing else...
See reply #15 for my interpretation of my distaff side's take on this...
I was all for the feminist movement when it seemed to be about equal treatment, and equal pay for the same job- what fair and honest person wouldn't be? Nobody likes arbitrary discrimination.
Where they lost me was the realization that they didn't like men, marriage, or children very much-- things the average woman, or at least most of the women I know and care about, think are very fine, indeed.
That, and the air of perpetual anger and grievance lingering about them...
Nice to meet you. :) Thanks for stopping by!
That's right Bob, you're so impotent that a dozen people managed to stop the "World's Greatest Idea".
And the best thing about it, we didn't have to do a thing.
Thanks for the article Connie!
For the love of Pete! No one was listening. Now ya done did it. Disturbed the poo[j].
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