Oh hey everybody! It is not even lunchtime when I’m shooting this video and feminism
has already treated me like a queen. Thanks to feminism I woke up without a kid, I went
jogging for a very long distance, not to brag, and no one slammed me up against the wall
and said what are you doing, your uterus is going to explode if you keep moving like that!
I was able to my morning coffee with my very own credit card in my very own name which
I wasn’t legally allowed to do until 1964.
This week’s Ask Cristen question is coming from frequent Stuff Mom Never Told You commenter
SatanistSin. ‘Can you make a list of feminism’s accomplishments? I can’t think of anything
other than the stuff my grandmother did. Please help.’ This is a question that is so often
asked in a trollish kind of way as if Feminism capital ‘F’, this feminist corporation
should be issuing an annual report every year just to prove that it is still relevant. But
SatanistSin your [laughter]. I feel like if I say SatanistSin seven times you will appear.
And I am way over my limit. I am going to entertain your request for feminism’s accomplishments.
All I had to do really to, to find enough material to talk about for this one video
is go back and offer a snapshot of some of the high points, just some of the high points
of what feminism has accomplished only since 2012. First and most obviously, feminism continues
to open professional doors for women that have previously been closed whether due to
cultural, institutional or even legal factors. In 2012 a record number of women were elected
to Congress and the same thing happened in Canadian Parliament a few weeks ago. Then
in 2013 the US military opened up combat roles to women for the first time. Talk about breaking
down some pretty historic reservations about places where women should and should not go.
Even though on average women earn less money than men do, in 2014, 37% of women were the
breadwinners in their households which is up from just 4% in 1970. In terms of men,
that whole women being allowed to be breadwinners thing opens up a lot more opportunities for
you to define and choose what kind of career path and family role works best for you and
your family. Second big thing: Feminism has also paved the way for mandating new protections
for some of the most vulnerable members of our society. In 2013 39 states passed laws
to combat sex and labor trafficking as well as assist survivors, 94% of whom are female.
Feminism accomplishment number 3: Raising awareness, accountability and also passing
new laws regarding sexual access to each other’s bodies. In 2014 the White House established
its Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault and California became the very first
state to pass a law codifying what affirmative sexual consent means. In 2014 the US Justice
Department launched a pilot program to allow Native American reservations to try non-Native
Americans for crimes of domestic assault and violence for the very first time. And feminism’s
recent accomplishments aren’t just about improving the lives of women, it’s also
about redefining what’s acceptable for men as well. In 2014 a former CNN reporter named
Josh Levs won an EEOC case brought against Time Warner regarding his paltry paternity
leave. That media giant changed its parental leave policy granting six weeks paid leave
to all new parents, not just new moms. The fifth huge feminist accomplishment: swiftly
creating new laws regarding crimes that weren’t even possible when suffragists and second-wavers
were protesting. Case and point: Revenge porn. In the past year a slew of states have outlawed
the distribution of so-called revenge or non-consensual pornography and a federal bill is in the works.
In the meantime, internet heavy-hitters including reddit, Facebook, twitter and Google have
all established anti-revenge porn policies. Even though the gender wage gap hasn’t closed
across the board, feminism is saving women money, honey. In Canada for instance, in July
2015, the so-called tampon tax or the federal tax on menstrual hygiene products was removed
and thrown out like an old tampon. A similar initiative is underway in the United States
because seriously, paying more for tampons [exploding sound]. More symbolically feminism
has also increasingly allied with other human civil rights movements seeking equality for
all people regardless of ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation. Yes I’m
talking about Black Lives Matter which was started by three queer black women Alicia
Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi and also about a really big thing that happened
in the United States on June 26, 2015 which was gay marriage being legalized. While no,
those were not the initiatives of feminists, being allies is important feminist work. So
SatanistSin, I mean feminism’s been pretty busy. But now dear viewers that I’ve given
you like this much of what feminism has accomplished I’m really curious, cautiously because this
is YouTube, to know what that means to you. Let me know in the comments. And thanks, thanks,
thanks to everybody who commented on last week’s Ask Cristen video ‘Do Doctors Ignore
Women?’ Susan Millard said, ‘I had a doctor that I was seeing for period pain and heavy
bleeding years ago and just one of his choice things he said to me was, “Periods are supposed
to hurt.”’ Jen Lail commented, ‘My hubs and I have had almost identical knee pain
while serving in the Air Force. It took 18 months for me to have surgery at which they
found they could no longer fix the problem and 4 years later the small tear ended up
ripping my ligament completely because they refused to sew it up even after I was discharged.
On the flip side, my hubs suffered with identical pain with a different injury. He “fell”
out on a PT test and got an MRI finding that he needed surgery. Within a month he was under
the knife and measured for a custom brace after half his cartilage was removed. It’s
still painful for both of us but at least one of us can complete the commitment we both
signed for.’ And Bre Faucheux said, ‘Doctors absolutely listen to men better across the
board. I’m a caregiver and whenever I try explaining what my relative is going through
the doctors (many of them) flat out ignore me. Yet when my dad goes with her, they listen.
I’ve seen it several times.’ Now dear viewers I want to know what’s on your mind,
what kind of questions do you have? Be sure to ask me so I can give you some answers.