April 17, 1986 · Cavalier Daily

Women Enjoy Increasing Options

This letter to the editor criticizes the Cavalier Daily's disclosure of the name of rape survivor Lisa Pelled, and its decision to run a syndicated article by Edgar Bergman, which criticized feminism and demeaned women. The letter refutes Bergmans claims that feminism has disturbed the domestic sphere while affording women no more equal treatment in the professional sphere, citing instead statistical evidence of increased proportions of women in the professional sphere.

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1986-04-17 - Women Enjoy Increasing Options.pdf

Subject	College student newspapers and periodicals Feminism and mass media Feminism and higher education
Creator	Rosemary Daszkiewicz
Source	Cavalier Daily
Publisher	Cavalier Daily
Date	1986-04-17

Text	Women Enjoy Increasing Options Well, the new editors of The Cavalier Daily moved quickly to make their political views regarding women known to the student body. First came the decision to run the name of the rape victim â€“ a decision which has already received much negative comment. Then, Monday, April 14, The Cavalier Daily chose to print a completely inane and offensive column by Edgar Berman which purports to outline all the horrible things feminism has done to our society and to celebrate the return of the traditional female role. These journalistic decisions have no justification, and I urge The Cavalier Daily to dramatically alter its viewpoint. Considering the Berman article, one wonders where Mr. Berman found his "facts." While not many corporate CEO's are women, there are an ever-increasing number of women in the corporate world. And let's not forget that about 60 percent of all law students are now female, compared to 1970 when less than 8.5 percent of the people attending law school were women. Although I have no specific figures, and business schools are also graduating increasing numbers of women. It is only a matter of time before these women advance in their fields and become leaders in their chosen professions. While feminism may have had its costs, clearly an increased divorce rate is not among them. It is possible that by increasing the options women have in careers and lifestyles which are independent of a role as wife/nurturer, feminism provided many women with the chance to leave stifling relationships and families. But that can be no worse than having "intact" families where a woman is unhappy, and may resort o liquor or drugs to escape. A new generation of feminists has been born from the struggles of the 1960s and 1970s. While we may refuse to wear the label "feminist," and while we may be more likely to don bras and makeup, we are not the same as the women of two generations ago. Wee have increasingly demanded and received our own part of the American Dream. As we have increased our visibility in non-traditional areas, we have forced those areas to change. Mr. Berman's "increase" in harassment is no increase at all. It has been going on a long time, but now the laws have been changed so that suits by harassed people can be won, and attitudes have been changed so that harassment is no longer acceptable. There is, of course, a long way to go. Everyone's roles are being changed, and that takes time. There will always be people who are happiest in what can be called the traditional lifestyle â€“ a two-parent household where Dad works outside the home and Mom works inside the home. But feminism has taught us that that's not the only way to go. and many of us are quite definitely headed in other directions. Rosemary Daszkiewicz LAW III

Text

Women Enjoy Increasing Options
Well, the new editors of The Cavalier Daily moved quickly to make their political views regarding women known to the student body. First came the decision to run the name of the rape victim â€“ a decision which has already received much negative comment.
Then, Monday, April 14, The Cavalier Daily chose to print a completely inane and offensive column by Edgar Berman which purports to outline all the horrible things feminism has done to our society and to celebrate the return of the traditional female role. These journalistic decisions have no justification, and I urge The Cavalier Daily to dramatically alter its viewpoint.
Considering the Berman article, one wonders where Mr. Berman found his "facts." While not many corporate CEO's are women, there are an ever-increasing number of women in the corporate world. And let's not forget that about 60 percent of all law students are now female, compared to 1970 when less than 8.5 percent of the people attending law school were women.
Although I have no specific figures, and business schools are also graduating increasing numbers of women. It is only a matter of time before these women advance in their fields and become leaders in their chosen professions.
While feminism may have had its costs, clearly an increased divorce rate is not among them. It is possible that by increasing the options women have in careers and lifestyles which are independent of a role as wife/nurturer, feminism provided many women with the chance to leave stifling relationships and families. But that can be no worse than having "intact" families where a woman is unhappy, and may resort o liquor or drugs to escape.
A new generation of feminists has been born from the struggles of the 1960s and 1970s. While we may refuse to wear the label "feminist," and while we may be more likely to don bras and makeup, we are not the same as the women of two generations ago. Wee have increasingly demanded and received our own part of the American Dream. As we have increased our visibility in non-traditional areas, we have forced those areas to change.
Mr. Berman's "increase" in harassment is no increase at all. It has been going on a long time, but now the laws have been changed so that suits by harassed people can be won, and attitudes have been changed so that harassment is no longer acceptable.
There is, of course, a long way to go. Everyone's roles are being changed, and that takes time. There will always be people who are happiest in what can be called the traditional lifestyle â€“ a two-parent household where Dad works outside the home and Mom works inside the home. But feminism has taught us that that's not the only way to go. and many of us are quite definitely headed in other directions.
Rosemary Daszkiewicz
LAW III

Tags	student publications
Date Added	January 25, 2017
Date Modifed	December 9, 2017
Collection	Cavalier Daily: articles about gender discrimination

Item Relations

This Item	References	Item: Feminists Just Can't Change Females
Item: Feminists Just Can't Change Females	Is Referenced By	This Item