08-04 Daughters

We are now at our daughter’s generation and the concept of equal rights is something taken for granted. But no bold assertions, no campaigning. Is feminism over as a crusade?
Like the cartoon suggests it is there but hidden.
My daughter, at a bit over 50 years of age, is pursuing a Masters Degree in Fine Arts. Now if that is not feminism I do not know what is.
It was a special day when my daughter asked her two children to notice the way I treat their grandmother as a lady. A woman can be a feminist but still appreciate old-fashioned romance.
Things have changed and I do not know if it has anything to do with women’s rights or the feminist movement. Young people are all working at careers and marrying later in life.
My mother and father have eleven married grandchildren and together they have 18 children. So like families all over the developed world, they are not reproducing themselves. And most of the wives have professional careers just as the feminists promoted.
OK. That means more immigrants from China, India and South America. And over time a very mixed-race population. You cannot fund a social welfare state without young tax-payers.
I still hear the feminists complain that women are still paid less than men. I am always suspicious of that claim. I built an organization from nothing that now employs over 400 people. Women were paid less in the early days because they held most of the secretarial type jobs. But those jobs are gone today and women hold all the same jobs that men do.
So, what people earn is about the kind of jobs women do and not that they are exploited by men. And the nature of the job market is in a continual state of flux.
My wife and I have been married for 65 years and we can afford to go out to eat or have food delivered. But my wife still likes to cook and she still fusses over me. And I certainly do not deserve all her attention. But our life has been magical and yes, old fashioned.
I am thrilled that my daughter and her generation have so many rights and opportunities that their grandparents lacked. But I am still thrilled that she appreciates the magic of an old-fashioned romance and real love.
That’s the way I see it anyways.