What do the women want?

"What do the women want?" asked one confused male. We've set them up as wives and mothers, treated them with great respect, even put them on a pedestal. Isn't that enough? Not anymore, it isn't! Many women reject the straitjacket role of childbearing and homemaking, jobs which women did not choose for themselves but which had been imposed on them by a male-dominated society. Not that the role of wife and mother is no longer honorable. It is, and numerous women still find homemaking a satisfying career. But in recent years, many thoughtful women have sought to expand this role. They want absolute equality with men — in marriage, in the work­place, in politics. Shouldn't women receive the same pay as men for the same work, have the same educational opportuni­ties, and be able to rise in any occupation as far as they can? It is no exaggeration to call current changes a social revolution — not only for women but for men, too. And there's much more to come.

Women's Liberation, or Women's Lib, is the name of a broad-based but informal popular movement. It embraces widely vary­ing organizations, people, and ideas. Some are moderate; some are radical. All are concerned with changing the role of women in contemporary society.

This movement is not a political party. It is more like a forum or platform from which feminists (supporters of women's rights) speak out on women's issues. In books, articles, lectures, femi­nists attack the timeless inequities built into a male-dominated social system, and suggest possible remedies.

Such inequities are easy to find, according to these women. One of the most objectionable is the unequal distribution of power throughout the system, especially at the top. Take the US government, for example. Although there have been a few women in Congress, there has never been a. woman president; not even a serious contender. A woman was nominated for the vice-presidency in 1984, but did not win the election. Not until President Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court did a woman serve on the nation's highest judicial body. Before that time, all nine justices had always been men.

For years, women hoped that a new social order would gradu­ally evolve, especially after they won the right to vote. Even get­ting this right wasn't easy. It required an amendment to the US Constitution, which wasn't passed until 1920. But change has been painfully slow, obstructed, the women say, by men who are unwilling to share their power, and by the women themselves, who lacked organization and a program of goals. In the 1960s and 1970s women determined to change all this. "Revolution, not evolution" was the new slogan.

The key word is equality. In every male—female relationship, must the woman always play the secondary role?

The Women's Liberation movement set out to change this. Through the movement, a program of goals and objectives was set forth. Not all women agree on all points, of course; but there is consensus on most of the following: The family must not take precedence over other things women might do. Women must not be tied to the house. Everyone must be free to experi­ment with new family styles that permit individuals to develop in their own ways.

All housekeeping chores, such as cooking, cleaning (dusting, vacuuming, laundry), food shopping, diaper changing, and child rearing must be divided equally. Household expenses are also shared. Women may keep their maiden names after marriage, to maintain personal identity.

Having children must be a free choice for both men and women. Women must have the right to end a pregnancy for any reason. Women who choose not to have children should not lose status.

The work of raising children must be shared equally by the mother and father. It should not be considered a full-time job for either one. Maternity leave must be given not only to mothers but also to fathers, so that they, too, can stay home from work if the need arises.

Jobs must be available to both sexes on the basis of individual ability, without the presumption that one sex is more capable than the other. This means that women will enter many lines of work traditionally open only to men. The Women's Liberation movement has not yet achieved all its goals, some of which are controversial even among women. But the movement has already had considerable impact in many areas of male—female relations. To advance their program, women welcome the cooperation and understanding of men. For the men who are obstinate, unhelpful, and "sexist", women have invented an unpleasant name — male chauvinist pig. And no one wants to be called that!

Points for discussion:

1. What do the women want?

2. Dwell on the liberation movement purpose.

3. What are the basic inequities in the contemporary society according to the text?

4. What’s the perfect division of housekeeping chores?