The question of where the ERA fits into the feminist movement is one that I wrestle with a lot. I got word that there was a conference on the ERA coming up, but since I couldn't attend I was all, "BOO!" Thankfully an attendee sent me this to share with y'all:
by Colleen Giles
Last
weekend I attended a conference at Roger Williams University titled
"The ERA in the 21st Century." The conference brought together
accomplished scholars, national activists, and twenty-something
feminists like myself that are still learning to navigate their own
paths to equal rights. The conference aimed to open a dialogue about the place of the Equal Rights Amendment in American culture and politics. The
ERA galvanized the Second Wave feminist movement, though it failed
ratification in enough states to become an amendment in 1982. The
ERA has also been a part of Third Wave feminism, with Jennifer
Baumgardner and Amy Richards naming it as an essential component of a
feminist future in Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future (2000). However, most people of my generation do not know anything about the ERA, its history, or its relevance to their lives.
The truth is, there are myriad reasons why the ERA is important today. The most basic of these reasons is that the 19th Amendment is the only Constitutional protection that guarantees women’s rights in the United States. The 14th Amendment—which so many people believe protects against sex discrimination—is subject to judicial interpretation. In
2010, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia argued that sex
discrimination was not protected by the Constitution. All of the current
legislation (including Title IX and the Civil Rights Act) are
vulnerable to roll back—something that is painfully evident in the
current climate in which campus sexual assault is an epidemic, pay
equity is stalled, and abortion rights are becoming more restricted
making it nearly impossible for some women to access a
federally“protected” right.
I
was at the conference to hear about how we could move forward. I was
blown away by the feminist star power of the women in the room— within a
span of eight hours I got to talk about abortion rights with Jennifer
Baumgardner—one of my feminist idols—and was able to eavesdrop on a
conversation between two of the strongest feminist voices in the
country, Ellie Smeal and Terry O’Neil. It seemed likely
that given the guest list, some decisive game plan was going to be
presented. But by the end of the second day of the conference, I was
left more confused than empowered.
Despite
rhetoric to the contrary, there is a divide between feminist
generations. The Keynote Speakers, Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy
Richards, who are recognized as leading voices of the Third Wave,
encouraged young women to find their way into feminism from whatever
vantage point inspired them. The ERA was one
of those potential entry points, but they acknowledged that young
feminists might be more inspired by more tangible goals: marriage
equality, trans issues, abortion rights, campus safety. During the
audience Q&A, conference goers nearly completely ignored what had
been said during the Keynote Address, an Address that spoke to me loudly
and clearly, and instead used the time to assert themselves in telling
us why the ERA was of paramount and central importance: period. Perhaps
the audience expected a concrete pro-ERA message. But the ERA’s heavy
hitters alienated their young audience by failing to bridge their agenda
with ours,which was something that could have been accomplished via the
messages presented by Baumgardner and Richards. They missed out on a
great opportunity to gain insight into what the important issues for
today’s young feminists, like me, look like.
During
an “ERA Roundtable,” Baumgardner’s suggestions about how to galvanize
young women were overwhelmed by another panelist’s insistence that they
need to be told that they inherited a poor deal. Educating the younger
generations is important, but telling them what issues they should care
about is not; there is power in offering them the tools to seek out the
issues that speak to them the most. That is what will
engage them in grassroots efforts for feminist change and, ultimately,
equal rights. I felt worn down and discouraged by this disconnect, that
really seemed to coalesce around age, and I remained silent during the
discussions because fear of being targeted by movement elders who are not open to criticism.
Young
feminists are the future of the movement and we have ideas and opinions
that have value and deserve respect. While I truly appreciate and
understand all of the tireless efforts put in to advance women to where
we are now, I also see that the climate of feminism is changing and we
have a lot of work to do if we want to mobilize toward any kind of real
feminist activism in our future. We need to start over,
because the tactics that have been used for the past forty years aren't
going to work for today's young women.
I have three takeaways from this conference. First,
there is a divide between feminists and it is being perpetuated from
within the movement by a lack of respect and understanding for each
other. Second the ERA is an important piece of legislation
that would write equality for women into the Constitution in a way that
cannot be subjected to judicial interpretation or legislative
rollbacks. And third, young feminists need a toolkit for future action, not a lecture about the failed actions of the past.
About Colleen Giles
Colleen
is founder of Bahjingo.com, a blog and collection of activists who work
within their community to engage young people in gender
inequality issues. She has worked with the Women's Center of Rhode
Island, a domestic violence resource center and women's shelter for over
a year. She has also fundraised for several other domestic violence
awareness initiatives within Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Colleen is
particularly interested in the role law and policy plays in achieving
justice for survivors of domestic violence. She graduated from Roger
Williams University in 2012 and plans to pursue graduate education in
Women’s and Gender Studies.