The Women's Strike for Equality: A Flashback to Feminist Follies

Picture this: August 26, 1970, New York City, a day when feminists decided to take a break from their daily routines to demand "equality." The Women's Strike for Equality was organized by the National Organization for Women (NOW) to mark the 50th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. The event was a nationwide protest, but the main spectacle took place in the Big Apple, where thousands of women marched down Fifth Avenue. Their demands? Equal opportunities in employment and education, free childcare, and abortion rights. But let's take a closer look at this so-called "strike" and see if it really was the groundbreaking moment it's often portrayed to be.

First off, let's talk about the irony of a "strike" where most participants didn't actually stop working. Many women who joined the march were not employed in the first place, and those who were often took the day off with their employer's blessing. So, was it really a strike, or just a day out in the city? The media, of course, lapped it up, portraying it as a monumental event in the fight for women's rights. But in reality, it was more of a parade than a protest, with participants carrying signs and chanting slogans that were more about making noise than making change.

Now, let's address the demands. Equal opportunities in employment and education? Sure, that sounds great on paper, but the reality is that opportunities are earned, not handed out like participation trophies. The idea that women were being systematically denied these opportunities is a narrative that conveniently ignores the complexities of the job market and education system. It's not about gender; it's about qualifications and merit.

Free childcare? Who's going to pay for that? The government? Taxpayers? The notion that childcare should be a public responsibility is a slippery slope towards socialism. Parents should be responsible for their own children, not the state. And as for abortion rights, the debate is far from settled. The idea that abortion is a "right" is contentious, to say the least, and it's a topic that divides the nation to this day.

The Women's Strike for Equality is often hailed as a pivotal moment in the feminist movement, but let's not forget that it was also a time when radical ideas were being pushed to the forefront. The event was less about genuine equality and more about advancing a specific agenda. It was a day when the loudest voices drowned out the more moderate ones, and when the media's portrayal of the event was more about sensationalism than substance.

In the years since the strike, we've seen significant progress in women's rights, but it's important to recognize that this progress has been achieved through hard work and perseverance, not through one-day protests. The Women's Strike for Equality may have been a spectacle, but it was not the catalyst for change that some would have you believe. It was a moment in time, a snapshot of a movement that was still finding its footing.

So, while the Women's Strike for Equality is often remembered as a landmark event, it's worth questioning whether it truly lived up to its name. Was it a strike, or just a day of feminist fanfare? Did it bring about real change, or was it just another chapter in the ongoing saga of feminist theatrics? The answers may not be as clear-cut as some would like to think.