http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/nick-news-137-full-episode.html (No EMBED possible)
I cannot express the
feeling I got when I first saw the preview for Nick News’s new episode. The
title was ‘Are We There Yet? Women’s History, Past, Present and Future’.
This is a show I remember watching as a kid and I was happy to see that it was
still on the air. Nickelodeon created a show that updated kids on current
events, and gave them an opportunity to share their opinion. This is a great
use of multimedia because the network is directly based to young kids and
teens. The focus point for our group is ‘Women in Work’ but I feel this
documentary addressed many issues women have faced in the past and ultimately
reinforces our goal for equality. This TV presentation is an easy way to
approach the topic of ‘Women’s Rights’
for it is a very serious matter in our country.
The first detail about the episode that I felt was appropriate is host Linda
Ellerbee defining ‘feminism’ as equality for both men and women. She defines it
with very simple words, which I feel is important because the video is being
targeted at a younger audience. This showed to me that this discussion was
going to get right to the point. Right off the back the episode began to recap
the history of women in our country throughout the decades. They covered
gaining the right to vote in 1920, the expectations of women in the 40s and
50s, to be perfect housemothers, and wives. In the 1960s, the direction of
women began to change due to the Civil Rights Act. Influenced from the Civil
Rights Act women were given a model of how to do a protest movement, as well as
learning from the anti war movement to not be afraid to question those who were
in power. The women’s’ movement made advances for women in the work place but
feminist today continue to face criticism and resentment. A quote from feminist
Gloria Steinem says ‘I think it’s important to understand where we’ve come from
and how we’ve gotten there because it really informs our sense of going
forward’. This is such a motivating statement from Steinem and I believe it
reinforces our belief that women will continue to make progress within our
country. This brings me to an article we read in class by author
Stephanie Coontz ‘The Rise of Women Does Not Mean the End of Men’. She says
‘how irreversibly women’s options are gender power relationships have changed’
and in in her book A Strange Stirring she
emphasized the enormous gains women have made since the 1960s. Women have
undeniably made significant process that cannot be reversed. Host Linda
Ellerbee follows up with a question for the panel of teens, asking ‘Are we
there yet? In terms of equality?’ The majority of the teens stated that there
has been a change within the movement, and a lot of advances have been made,
but there is still much to be accomplished. When hearing these teenagers speak
so eloquently about the women’s movement gives me hope. Hope that we are
influencing our children in a positive way. Encouraging them to speak up and
use their voices, and to teach them the importance of equality. It is very
apparent that I believe women should be treated as equal within the workforce
and should have every advantage that men do. But what about the rights to the
women that do wish to say home?
Ellerbee brings up
the point that some women do desire to stay home and take care of their children,
but sometimes this just may not be possible for the women and their families
cannot economically survive. The household usually depends on both the income
of men and women. Could this be a result of feminism? Are women causing this
because they are taking all the jobs? This was a point brought up by one of the
teens and really struck me because I feel that it should not matter. It
shouldn’t matter if the woman or the man wants to work or stay home, the jobs
themselves should be able to be accommodated by both men and women.
One of the last major points discussed in the documentary is the Equal Rights Amendment.
As of now the United States constitution does not recognize gender equality.
The ERA was brought to attention during the Women’s Movement in the 1960s and
it wasn’t until 1972 that congress passed the ERA but in order for it to be
official it needs approved from 38 out of the 50 states. A ten-year deadline
passed once the amendment was approved and it did not receive the votes it
needed. Since then the ERA has been brought up in every session of congress,
since 1982. I felt that this was a important fact to bring up during the
discussion with the teens, for it was something I knew very little about. Some
are unaware that our constitution does not recognize gender equality. To my
surprise the teens were very knowledgeable of the topic and all were in favor.
The importance of the teens being aware of the ERA shows how our country has
changed, and where the direction is headed. In author Stephanie Coontz’s new
book Intimate Revolutions she intends
to show the positive trends of gender equality and the transformation of
interpersonal relationships at every stage of life, from birth through old age,
for better, and for worse. I feel the teens shown in the documentary are a
perfect example of what Coontz’s is trying to advocate, that there has been significant
change within our country’s social dynamics. The discussion concluded with the
question being asked again ‘Are we there yet?’ All teens replied no, but
they are all hopeful, and ready to move forward. That we will we all will
continue on making choice possible for everyone. Melody Bryant
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