Mrs. Schlafy's "Stop ERA"
campaign is based in
opposition to "those few
women who want to be treated
like men," while she protests
"our right to be women."
No one has denied her
"right," granted by nature, to
be female–a characteristic that
is unchanged by the style of
clothes, amount of make-up,
presence of underclothing, or
occupation. Femininity cannot
be enhanced by any such aids,
for it is inherent in a woman
herself, and substituting
outside factors for it results in
what Germaine Greer calls true
female impersonation.
A woman who wants to be
treated equally under law, and
to face the same opportunities
as do men, in no way abrogates
her innate femininity; indeed,
to ask less would diminish her
human dignity.
The ERA would not be
"depriving the wife of her full
right to be fully supported by
her husband," because that
right never existed No person
has the right to be a millstone
about the neck of another,
enjoying benefits of the other's
responsibility without
incurring corresponding
obligations. To do so is to
trade the insecurity of the
uncertain future for the
dependency on another,
possibly resentful, person who
faces the same uncertain
future, and who cannot avail
himself of the "freedom of
choice to get a job or be a
homemaker."
If the marriage dissolves
(highly possible given modern
divorce rates) the woman is left
helpless, demanding a return
on "the best years of her life,"
exposing the grasping
selfishness behind the
romance: a lack of
responsibility that would be
condemned if it had any other
source.
Painful as it will be to some
like Mrs. Schlafly, women are
learning to face the
responsibilities that correspond
with the benefits we now
accept from society, such as
the right to vote; they should
not be held back by laws and
attitudes that "protect" them
from so becoming.
