Rethinking true equality

Rights movements have achieved significant gains over the decades, but disparities continue to exist in the United States between men and women. In terms of full-time wages in late 2009, for the same labor, women earned on average only 77.5 cents for every dollar men make. Women who have children earn about 2.5 percent less than women who don’t, whereas men with children earn about two percent more than men who don’t. Furthermore, the recent attempt at a health care reform bill left out abortion coverage, the protection of a major aspect of women’s reproductive rights. In the face of this perpetuated inequality, it seems clear that the fight for women’s rights is not over. Gender inequality continues to exist, and the solution lies in changing our very idea of and approach to women’s rights.

Feminism, the fight for female equality and women’s rights, has always walked a fine line when seeking to elevate the status of women over the decades. Historically, the movement achieved such successes as the entry of women into the workforce, increasing awareness of reproductive rights, and universal suffrage, but it has also gained a stigma for the supposed promotion of female superiority (at the expense of men).

However, feminism needs to be rethought. Conventional thought about gender has led to the division of societal roles based on cultural interpretations of sex. The increasing awareness of gender identifications beyond the traditional binary of male and female, due to varying sexual inclinations, leads us to question the role gender itself plays in inequality. If rights are denied to women based on the distinction society has created between men and women, then gender distinctions create and perpetuate gender hierarchies. These distinctions lead to disparities in rights between genders. As a result, these distinctions themselves are the inequalities.

However, an increasing number of examples complicate the traditional, culturally established classifications of gender. The LGBT movement has encouraged conversation, especially on college campuses, about gender identity, leading to a redefining of gender and an expansion of the traditional boundaries of sexuality. Last week, fashion designer Rad Hourani displayed his unisex creations as male and female models donned layers of black clothing, bike shorts, tights, and high heels. He explained that all people should have a choice about the clothing they represent themselves with, especially because he believes everyone is born a human being, unisex, with desire emerging through conditioning. Similar androgyny was on display this weekend at the New York City Center where eight talented male dancers from around the world performed Kings of the Dance. At the end of the second act, two dancers performed a pas de deux, a ballet duet traditionally performed with male and female dancers. Though there have been a couple of male variations performed in past decades, these dancers, with their longer blond hair, trim physiques, and beige unitards, created a riveting, sensual piece that was truly unconventional, pushing the boundaries of traditional gender roles in dance. If fashion and the performing arts are indicators of rising social trends, then gender neutrality is one such trend. The student-supported proposition for gender-neutral housing at Columbia also exemplifies the increasing abandonment of gender distinctions (while the fact that the administration has held off on approving a pilot program highlights the controversial nature of the situation).

To deal with these changes in gender perception, the only way to generate a more inclusive feminist movement is to eliminate altogether the limitations determined by gender, rendering it so ambiguous that it can no longer be cause for subordination. With an overthrow of gender, it will be easier to break down the traditional, culturally enforced hierarchies and begin to achieve true equality. This shift away from traditional gender labels and sexual preferences leads to an increasingly gender-neutral society—distinctions between genders are blurred, thereby changing the affects of cultural interpretations of individuals’ sexes.

When we consider the issue of women’s rights, we should really concern ourselves with gender neutrality. The traditional view of feminism is restricting when it applies to the generalized, culturally established subject of “women.” The revolutionary awakenings of sexuality and gender identity have become so significant that it is exclusionary and backwards to focus on the rights of one distinct gender. Equality in all aspects of society should not be determined by a characteristic that has shifted so drastically from its traditional construct, nor should equality be delayed because a rights movement continues to adhere to that same limitation.

The author is a Columbia College first-year.