Volume CXXXIII, Number 12 January 30, 2004

Feminism is "past peak"

To the Editors:

The article by Nina Shrayer on feminism (Orient Dec. 5, 2003) couldn't be more wrong-headed. Feminism is "past peak" because it is no longer relevant in modern American society. The battle has long been won. Only the radical left or right would view the dominant majority as "apathetic." Rather the middle is content with the status quo, because there is little necessity for further skirmish. Women have achieved the necessary equality. The glass ceiling has been shattered, reproductive control is firmly in women's hands, and medical schools admit a higher percentage of women than men to name just a few of the societal "corrections" wrought over the past thirty years.

Now the only fighting is the usual jockeying for power that is seen amongst everyone already sitting at the table. The label of "oppressed" for women is totally disingenuous and is utilized only as a political ploy to gain more power. All groups with relative power engage in this activity whether it be the right screaming about liberal bias in the media or Democrats complaining about Republican gerrymandering. In today's society every organization is an aggrieved minority and feminists are no different. It is all so much spin.

A side note: the allegation that capitalist societies extended civil rights to its citizens because communist nations had already done so is to stand history on its head. The "greatest good for the greatest number" precluded individual liberties. Just ask any Moscow resident circa 1950 or any Czech after the Prague Spring. If this is indeed what Professor Ghodsee is promulgating, then self-serving revisionist history is the steady diet in the division of women's studies.

Sincerely,

Stephen E Glinick '71

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