Barbie and The Feminist Movement

My daughter is participating in National History Day at her middle school. This year's theme is: Debate and Diplomacy: Successes, Failures, and Consequences. The kids compete at the middle school and if they win they go on to a regional competition at the local college. If they win at that level, they then go to Denver  to compete on the state level. If they win state, they go on to compete nationally in Washington D.C. My kids have made it to the state level, but never to the national level.

My daughter chose to debate the effects Barbie has had on our society. Feminists claim that Barbie has had a negative influence on young girls and their self-esteem, so my daughter wanted to research it.

As we've talked about it, I have to say that I think it's completely ridiculous to blame self-esteem issues on a doll. Umm, it's a doll. How can a doll have adverse effects on anyone? It's an inanimate object. I played with Barbies all the time. I even had one fashioned after Miss America that I thought was beautiful. I had all sorts of Barbies and I loved playing with them. I never wanted to be Barbie nor did I ever want to look like her because, well, she was a doll, and I'm a real person. I could easily differentiate between real and make-believe. I'd have to say that if a doll undermines your self-esteem, you have some serious issues brewing.

Eleanor Roosevelt said it best when it comes to self-esteem, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

My daughter's teacher told her to research the feminist movement and see how it related to the Barbie controversy. My daughter asked me about the feminist movement and I was happy to give her my opinion. The feminist movement has been responsible for the degradation of women and is directly responsible for the murders of millions of innocent babies under the guise of women's rights.

Personally, I do not want to be the same as men. The moment women set out to become like men is the moment our society began to degrade. There was a time when men respected women. They opened doors, pulled out chairs, carried heavy packages, spoke in milder tones, protected the fairer sex, and held women in high regard. Now, that's all changed. Men don't respect women at all. Chivalry is mostly dead. Of course, there are those who are still taught to be chivalrous and to respect women, but they are few and far between. I think domestic violence is directly related to the loss of respect men have for women which is a direct result of the feminist movement.

The feminists like to scream and yell for equality and what they miss is that we already are equal, but equal does not mean the same. My daughter's teacher claims the feminist movement gave women choices. What choices? The choice to seek a career instead of motherhood? Will all that money and prestige keep those women company when they're old and gray? Will the absence of a family really bring happiness? Of course, there's the choice to sleep around with whomever happens to be available, a choice that was once unacceptable. And there's the worst choice of all, killing a baby simply because it's inconvenient. The feminist movement has taught women to not only be selfish but also irresponsible.

The women's movement has done nothing to improve the lot of women and I'm ashamed of all those women who have tried to make me the same as a man. I'm proud to be a woman. I love being a woman. I love being a wife. I love being a mother. I resent the implication from feminists that somehow I'm not a real woman because I don't have some high-powered career and have chosen to stay home and do the most important job in the world: raising my children. My only regret is that I couldn't have 10 more kids.

And what does Barbie have to do with all of this? The feminists claim that Barbie has skewed the expectations of little girls. That girls who play with Barbies will grow up with a distorted sense of reality. Really? I say to the feminists look in the mirror for a distortion of reality.

The best part of the whole thing is that when I asked my daughter where she went for her research on feminism she replied, "I went to LDS.org because I figured that was the best place to find the truth about women." Yes!! I love that. She even wants to include a quote from The Proclamation about women's true roles. Color me a very proud mama.

Whether my daughter wins or not at school, she's already a winner in my book!

UPDATE: She won third place out of 30 entries and will be competing in the regionals.Yay!

Feminist Movement

I read an article yesterday that claimed that the feminist movement was the worst thing to happen to women. I have to agree.

I can remember the days of ERA and women shouting for their right to be the same as men. I remember worrying that I'd never be able to use a public restroom because I certainly didn't want to share a restroom with a strange man. I can remember the chanting, the bra burning, and the demands. I never quite understood it because I loved being a girl. I loved wearing the girly things (though I could do without the bra most of the time) and have never wanted to be the same as a man.

I think women who truly feel slighted by men haven't fully grasped the glorious role we have as women. We are all equal, but equal doesn't mean the same. I don't want to be the same as a man and I don't think our roles are interchangeable.

Women are, by nature and design, more nurturing. That's not to say there aren't men who are nurturing, but by and large women are the nurturers and that's why we are entrusted with bearing and rearing the children. Women are more emotional than men (though I did see quite an emotional young man on American Idol the other night) and, sometimes, that makes it harder to make an objective decision. We tend to make decisions based on how we feel. I've made that mistake many times in dealing with my kids. If I'm very emotional about an issue it's always better to let my husband handle it because he can be more objective than I can.

And so here we are, trying to make women into men. Why? Why is it such a bad thing to want to be a woman, to want to bear and rear children, to want to embrace our womanness? Why is it bad to want to be different than men? Why is it that being a mom is somehow less important than being an executive? Isn't that backwards?

What has the feminist movement earned us except that men don't treat women with respect as they once did. Of course, there are men like my honey who respect women, but there's been a change in men's attitudes toward women. Families have disintegrated as women have felt compelled to compete with men in the workplace. More women choose to be independent and not marry or have children. More women see raising their children as a chore instead of a privilege or see marriage as disposable. We've lost sight of our divine roles in our attempt to become the same as men.

For those who want to compete with men, have at it. I surely won't stand in your way, but don't assume that I want to do the same.

I'm perfectly happy having my husband open the pickle jar, pull out my chair, and protect me from all the dragons of the world. He is my knight in shining armor and I'm completely happy being his damsel in distress (well, hopefully I'm not always in distress). I love being a woman, a wife, a mother, and embracing my femininity which has absolutely nothing to do with the feminist movement.