The Third Wave

image from Feminist Disney, Tumblr.com

"You've come a long way Baby"...Remember that commercial for Virginia Slims? We don't want to smoke those fat cigarettes men smoke. In a twisted way, it was on the brink of being a feminist rally cry when the jingle was sung: "You've Come a Long Way Baby...to get where you've got to today." The commercials (circa 1967) even discussed women's suffrage and how far we've come. We even earned the right to die of lung cancer and heart disease. Golly, just great. Not sure why I lead with that...but it was a cultural oddity that came to the surface at the beginnings of a cultural Feminist revolution. Getting fancy, feminine cigarettes was just the tip of the iceberg.

As Feminists, we need to realize that to level the playing field, so-called "feminist issues" are not just about women, but affect both men and women. Men need to be involved as well because after all...the men we share our lives with have a vested interest in our well being and life style.

My interest in this was piqued by a recent news story about the state of Minnesota passing a plan to allow 6 weeks of paid paternity leave for all Minnesota state employees. This applies to the mother and/or father upon the birth or adoption of a child; maternity leave alone is a separate issue. I applaud the state of Minnesota for this progressive thinking: they have become only the fourth state in this country to provide such an employee benefit followed by California, New Jersey and Rhode Island. At this point, it only applies to Minnesota state employees, and some speculate that it may be quashed in the next legislative session. Time will tell, but I think it is a step in the right direction. It is difficult to sell everyone on that concept; from an employer's perspective and an economic standpoint...how does a company afford that? There are many unanswered questions, but I like to see societal support of both women and family rights. Some private companies like the Mayo Clinic and Target also offer the same employee benefit. That's encouraging.

Like Betty Friedan said "Men weren't really the enemy". The perception of feminism has definitely changed from when I studied Feminist Theory at the U. of I.  Many aspects of our lifestyles as women have gone from "theory" to reality, so many rights have been won but there are more steps to take.

In any case,  maternity leave policies have changed and evolved (in some ways...) from the time I gave birth. I remember when I took maternity leave, there was something about my leave that to this day still makes me cringe: calling a maternity leave a "part-time disability".  Perhaps some companies still call it that; the employee is able to get more time off when it is referred to as that. Perhaps it is just a matter of semantics, but words can have a powerful impact. It annoys me no end! A woman is bringing a new life into the world...NOT a suffering disability.  I will never forget that. But my leave had a whole different story....I never went back. That's a whole different blog for another day.

So I am a Baby Boomer and consider myself a part of "The Second Stage" of Feminism. Thank-you very much Betty Friedan...I've read that book cover to cover at least twice. The Generation X women, post baby boomers born after 1964, I understand are considered the "Third wave" feminists. It's a whole new ball game today with different struggles that women deal with both within the work force and on the home front.  Some women truly appreciate the strides that were made by the previous feminists, I like to think I do. Looking forward, it is encouraging to me to see changes like this in policy that truly help to equalize both sexes. It helps to look back, too so we can see how far we have come. Keep plugging away, but also count your blessings. #Minnesotapaternityleave #thirdwavefeminism  JES