The Sham of Equality

In modern times we have not been aware of the moment in history when this curtailment occurred, or even that there was such a moment when limitations were imposed on our being. The suffragists of the 1850’s began a call for liberation without awareness of the goddess worshipping cultures in which women organized and managed the growth of what we now call civilization. Brave women of the 19th Century saw inequity between men and women with no means of reflecting back on their ancient sisters, who, following the melt of the ices learned from gathering that planted seeds could produce multiple new grains. These women, eons ago, nourished the growth of agriculture and the storage of grains which became the measure of wealth of those people.

In the early part of the twentieth century, another eruption of feminine energy brought pressure to the male dominated government to allow women to vote. The equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution finally adopted by Congress went down to defeat in the states after a hard fought battle. In 1982, time expired for ratification by 38 states with approval by 36, certainly a strong indicator of remaining resistance to women occupying their full position in the culture. But still, now, women own property, sign their own checks and credit charges, get loans for new automobiles, graduate from undergraduate and graduate schools in large numbers with high achievement, hold responsible jobs, become CEO’s, and achieve closer and closer salary parody. Things have changed. The situation is much different than it was in the childhood of my grandmother—even my mother—even my childhood. Women have choices and possibilities for high degrees of success in expressing themselves through the way that they live.

So, why do I still feel concern around the issue of where women are in the use of their life-force compared to where they could be? Why do I want more? Why do I feel that so much more is possible?

In spite of the changes and women’s increased contributions to who we are as a culture, what we think is important, how we act, and what we do, there remains the imposed limitation of a framework within which all of life takes place, a framework that would not have been chosen if women had been using their voices and summoning their intent as the plans were being drawn up, a framework that does not include a focus on what women find important in life and how it is lived. It is where we are going and the means we choose to get there that concern me. It is the choices women are making to fit in to the way things are that bothers me. It is the focus of intent and effort on getting ahead in a system that is known to be harming the planet and everything on it that raises my alarm and forces me to look closely at the problem of who women are and what they must do. Women are, after all, at least half of the wisdom and energy available for solving problems, setting goals, designing a way of living that allows joy and abundance for everyone. Do they really want to fit into a system that puts lust, greed, and power in front as guiding principles for life?

My questions are: “How can we make a new framework?” “How can the voice of women connected to the truth of who they are be integrated into society’s plans?” “What would the guiding principles be of a plan agreed upon by men and women awake and aware of their true natures, their actual needs, their gifts in life, and the purpose of living?” I am not talking here about needs contrived by industries that manipulate minds to create needs for their products. I’m talking about the authentic woman aware of herself, her true needs, her actual connections to life and what is important about living.

The women’s movement of the 70’s and 80’s brought awareness to everyone that women could participate more profoundly in their own lives and in life around them. The men moved over a little bit. They harnessed their fears and shut their mouths and gave a little.

OK-we will not open doors for you.

OK-we will not stand back and let you go first.

OK-we will not lay our coats in the gutter to keep the filth off your dress (and we will clean those gutters).

We might listen to what you have to say.

We will raise your pay.

We might vote for you if you run for political office.

But we will not give you all the secrets that we have horded for 5,000 years. We will not let you into our inner world, and we will not share the greater wealth. We will pretend that you are one of us, but we will continue to incest our grandchildren and rape your daughters. We will act kindly, but we will know that we are still in charge and you have little hope of rising to the top of our system.

It is this sham of equality that bothers me. It is women’s willingness to accept only one piece of their own pie that forces me to speak out. It is the lack of courage among women to address the real and lasting pain of their own betrayals and the hands ruined in ineffectual hammering on the door to possibility that cries for attention. The problem of women being fully alive in their own lives is not solved.

You may not think this is a problem. Maybe you have beaten the odds and risen to a very high level in the activity of life. Maybe it doesn’t take much to allow you to feel happy. Maybe you haven’t noticed sisters languishing, or the ones who are hiding because their uncle incested them or their school mate raped them. Maybe you are satisfied with your minimum piece of the pie. Maybe you think that is all there is.

I am not satisfied. I know that something truthful and abundant is missing.