Posted on 09/29/2009 6:41:16 AM PDT by Kaslin
According to the United States General Social Survey, women’s overall level of happiness has dropped since 1972. Two professors at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania released a paper exploring female happiness, “The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness,” this spring which garnered national press attention. One of the major findings in this study is that women’s happiness has declined both compared to 35 years ago and compared to men’s happiness.
This study has prompted me to ask once again—Is feminism good for women? Does feminism make women happier? What does feminism hold for me?
I began asking these questions five years ago. I had just returned for my third year of college at the University of Virginia (UVA) after an internship in Washington, D.C. During my time in D.C., I had enjoyed being surrounded by ambitious conservative women. I sought out a club for conservative women on campus. Much to my disappointment, nothing like this existed, so on September 29, 2004, I founded a book club for conservative women at UVA, the Network of enlightened Women (NeW).
NeW was started to fill a niche on one campus. It turns out there was a need for NeW elsewhere. Within a few months of starting NeW at UVA, women from other campuses contacted me to see if they could start chapters of NeW on their campuses. That began our national expansion. NeW grew steadily—one chapter at a time as more and more women heard about NeW. NeW continues to grow this way.
Today, we are celebrating NeW’s fifth anniversary. In these last five years, NeW has grown to over 15 campuses, held four national conferences in D.C., launched the NeW Blog and been covered by national press such as TIME, The AP and The Washington Post.
NeW’s rapid growth demonstrates on the grassroots level what this study found in surveys: Women are still trying to figure out how to manage our lives. Feminism does not hold all the answers. We want to talk about it.
NeW members regularly discuss the opportunities and challenges facing women today as well as feminism. One of the most popular books that the NeW book clubs read is What Our Mothers Didn’t Tell Us: Why Happiness Eludes the Modern Woman by Danielle Crittenden. Crittenden exposes how feminism has hurt women today, such as by selling the idea that the key to female happiness is independence. Who Stole Feminism? by Christina Hoff Sommers and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex, and Feminism by Carrie Lukas are two other popular books for NeW chapters. These books resonate with young women, much more so than a radical feminist agenda.
Many NeW chapters even hold campus-wide events to broaden the discussion. Among others, NeW chapters have hosted speakers, held careers panels and sponsored debates. Take Blayne Bennett, the President of the NeW chapter at Arizona State University, for example. She was frustrated by the negative attitude toward men that campus feminists promoted through The Vagina Monologues. In response, she organized a Gentlemen’s Showcase to encourage her peers to talk about chivalry, gentlemen and relations between the sexes. At the Gentlemen’s Showcase, the ladies of NeW honored the top ten most-nominated gentlemen at ASU to show their appreciation for those men who treated women with dignity and respect. This event sparked quite a discussion.
Five years ago, I did not anticipate NeW becoming a national movement. NeW’s success is a product of college women rebelling against the feminist message that dominates campus and trying proactively to find ways to increase their level of happiness. Young women are seeking a new message—one that embraces femininity, acknowledges that there are sex differences and values the role of women as mothers and in the workplace. NeW provides a place for women to explore this message and seeks to turn women in a NeW direction—one that will lead to an increase in women’s happiness.
Yes, and it will be comprised of aging bachelors.
That’s because their happiness is dependent on stomping on our happiness.
EXACTLY....you can measure happiness by the selfishness of the person....the more selfish...the less happy.
randall, is this what the singles thread will degenerate into? A woman bashing thread?? shudder!
Said another way, the heart that gives, gathers.
No. I just wanted to alert folks to the conversation.
When she says she's "FINE!" run...
Sometimes it's a men bashing thread...
Thanks Randall.
could it be that women want real men and real men don’t want overweight, ugly to the bone feminists?
Good one!
Well, I guess exercise is fairly recent when we think of going to a gym or jogging or lifting weights or running etc. However, my mother had a three story home that she maintained with the help of all of us of course. So, we climed a LOT of stairs all day long.
We walked back and forth to school, was a cheerleader, had gym classes and danced away the weekend after walking to the dance location dancing all night and walking back home. :)
We pretty much ate our three meals a day with maybe a snack or so inbetween but that was usually fruit or a pretzel or chips.
We drank milk, ate vegetables and a meal that stayed with you. We had to because we were so active. We had to help with everything in the house which meant hanging clothes on the line, takeing them down and then bringing them in the house which meant going up the stairs.
We sat on the floor and cleaned baseboards. We stood and ironed clothes. We stood and washed dishes and dried them too. We SWEPT the kitchen floor after dinner.
So, I know my mother got a LOT of exercise and so did we helping her. I also know she LIFTED ... not weights but kids. She walked downtown to the store to shop as there was no car. She walked back home after she was through. She got plenty of sunshine without a Vitamin D supplement as she was outside as much as possibble.
So, women DID get exercise and plenty of it. They just lifted babies instead of weights, went up and down to the second and third floors instead of using a Stair Master. They walked everywhere they went instead of using a treadmill and they stretched hanging clothes on lines etc instead of doing stretching exercises. I’d say they did pretty darn good...wouldn’t you??? :) :) :)
Go to a dance class for kids. The teacher will instruct the girls to step to the left. All the girls will step to the left and will generally feel accomplilshment at doing the step correctly. The teacher will instruct the boys to step to the right. Some of the boys will immediately push, shove, and stomp each others feet.
Females tend to feel more comfortable following instructions. In many traditional female roles, following instructions is an advantage. One’s mother can probably give good advice on to rock a baby to sleep, for example.
But the modern mass media has taken advantage of women’s natural tendency to follow instructions. Here are approximate conversations I’ve had with women that just leave me thinking “I don’t think like that.”
Woman: I spend hours each day thinking about how fat I am. The media put such pressure on women to be thin.
Me: So ignore the media.
Woman: it’s not that easy!
Woman: It’s a pain to wear high heels every day, but I have to do that where I work.
Me: Do any of the women in your office wear flats?
Woman: Some of them, yes.
Woman: If you are a woman and don’t want kids, people act like you are a bad person.
Me: So ignore those people. It’s your life.
Woman: But the pressure is so great! It’s hard.
I am not trying to bash women here. These were all good people who I was happy to have as friends. None of these women were hurting anyone but themselves.
Older women sometimes develop the attitude that they aren’t going to worry so much about trying to follow other people’s instructions. I suspect these women are often very happy.
There is much truth in what you’ve written.
Yes, there is a lot of truth in that.
However, women have always had to step up and many, many children were raised by mom only before 1972. I think it’s more than that.
I think it is also related to unrealistic expectations. IF you get married, he is supposed to be perfect (and, of course he never is). Women used to be smart enough to know that nobody is perfect, and were willing to accept men for what they were (and themselves as equally imperfect humans).
Wow, these NeW women are lovely!!!!
That too....
There is much truth in what you’ve written:)
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