Less than a week from today, our state could elect its first female governor. It would come two years after we elected someone who had been the state’s first congresswoman to be the first woman to serve Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate. Beyond that, two years from next Tuesday the country as a whole may, for the first time, put a woman in the White House. What an extraordinary set of accomplishments for those women, and for the country itself. While the prospect of these electoral victories excites me, there is one result that may accompany them that has me worried.
A little under six years ago, after the first time an African American man had been chosen to be our president, Forbes published an article titled, “Racism in America is Over.” In that piece, the author outlined that while racism had certainly not been entirely eradicated in our country, the election of Barack Obama proved that it was no longer a major problem, in an African American context. That idea was soon tested when Trayvon Martin was murdered, and then two years later a police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, causing the small town of Ferguson, Missouri to explode on an international stage. Now, while the facts and circumstances surrounding these two young men and their deaths spawn arguments to this day, the debates themselves, and the shape they have taken in the media and elsewhere, show that America isn’t through coping with the problem of racism that has haunted us since our founding.
This is exactly what concerns me about the continued, and prospective, election of women to major offices in the U.S., especially the presidency. Because whether it’s in two years, or six years, or 22 years, we will have a female president, and when we do, national conversations will start to be had with greater frequency. These conversations will feature questions such as, is sexism in America over? Or, are the social and economic barriers that once seriously hindered women in this country now gone? People will look at pictures of whatever woman may be occupying the Oval Office and will be tempted to answer both of those questions with a simple yes. That is what I’m afraid of.
This is not to say that significant advancements in reducing gender disparities have not been made in recent years. According to a study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women born in the early 1980s are actually 33 percent more likely to have received a college degree than their male counterparts. With that said however, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar made by men in this country.
Even with a focus just on the obvious steps forward that we have taken regarding to equalizing opportunities for women and reducing publicly sanctioned discriminatory practices, let me posit this: At what point have we made it far enough as a society that we can safely stop worrying about sexism and its effects? To this, there is a very simple and clear answer: Never. As with any other form of prejudice based on gender, race, sexual orientation or other facets of identity that people have no choice in, if there exists even one instance of discrimination we, as a nation, should care. We should never sit idly by as someone has opportunities taken away from them because of who they are, and justify it by stating that its just not that serious of a problem anymore.
Ultimately, these electoral victories by women should be celebrated on a national stage. However, I caution everyone against becoming complacent on issues relating to sexism, because it is most certainly not dead in this country. The moment we accept that discrimination, in whatever form, is no longer a serious problem in the United States, is the moment we resign ourselves from fighting to stop it. Let’s make sure that we do not stop struggling until all Americans, regardless of who they are, have realized their unalienable rights.
Max is a junior majoring in Political Science. Do you agree or disagree with his view on sexism in America? Send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
