Image by Yoram Raanan

The Problem of Women in America

by Sande Hart

Years ago I sat in the audience of Melissa Harris Perry as she was promoting her book Sister Citizen; Shame, Stereotype and Black Women in America. She framed her talk by telling us she was speaking about the "Problem of black people in America." Ms. Perry is a Professor of Political Science, radio host and former MSNBC anchor.

A problem is something to solve, something that requires reckoning and is usually an irritant. A problem does not go away easily, or without extraneous efforts. That is, until we remember the classic, "We cannot solve problems with the same thinking that created them." (A. Einstein) Unless we change our belief systems, behaviors, and find new solutions to old problems, we are going to spin in generational circles over and over and over....

We are stepping out of that cycle, thanks to Black Lives Matters and books like Caste and White Fragility; earthquakes upon our psyches. Classics that are as relevant today, four decades later like Riane Eisler's The Chalice and The Blade laid an undeniable and unavoidable foundation of knowledge and research at our feet, and demanding of another look. The day I started to remember what Riane introduced to us; the patterns of human history, coupled with learning about my white privilege and my white fragility (paper-thin-crispy-fragility) I understood what that word, "Problem" meant and I was contributing to it.

As I was preparing for a panel on Women's Interfaith Leadership, I started to journal thoughts. I have been at this for a couple of decades, feeling well prepared and slightly over confident, but wanted to be sure to hit certain points. That is, until something started to emerge out of my ball point pen that I had never realized before. Then I remembered Ms. Perry's statement and wrote, "Women are a Problem to solve."

The fact that we are still having this conversation about women's equality, or celebrating the fact that we get one entire day dedicated to Women (UN 1975), and an entire month (Obama 2011) are important to remind us, but take another look. Why is celebrating women's accomplishments after 150 years of pumping firsts, pounding pavement, climbing corporate ladders, winning Congressional, Senate, Supreme Court seats, and becoming Vice Present of the United States, now the real prospect of the first U.S. women President, not a Problem?

The fact that we have made extraordinary strides since our Suffragist ancestor grandmothers, we still are qualifying, if not mentioning that women are reaching such heights. It's necessary, and good, and we should be delighted, but it's still a big and not fully resolved Problem. The UN Women's efforts and strides are enormous, but who knows that if we don't go looking? That's a Problem.

While the (organization to go un-called-out) generously gave me the privilege to create a space for women and girls, after a couple of years of making huge strides, bringing tons of traffic and programs to the organization, empowering hundreds into creative leadership, at one heart wrenching Board retreat, I was asked to spin the sector out of the organization. We literally took up zero space, and even got our own corporate Zoom account gifted to us. We were too powerful. We needed to calm down. We were a Problem of a different kind, but still a Problem.

Women are still seen as the other when celebrated because of our gender. Let's consider celebrating a woman because of what she accomplishes or who she is and not because she's a woman. Unless it's to say that we have overcome, and that means, it should be (at least) one of the last times for such fanfare.

If we follow the root of this "Problem" we will find the all too familiar term we overuse unapologetically at SARAH; patriarchy, which has always been supported by most of the major world's religions. Women are still the other, not unlike our very life-sustaining planet Earth. We have yet to heal that wound of division that was created when we first created dominion over Earth. She was seen as something to be commoditized, used for our pleasure.

The fact that women are the providers, protectors and sustainers of culture and life, this belief system has been socialized out of us. It's a Problem when we scream it from the mountain tops as if it's not common knowledge and needs reminding.

Women share a heartbeat with our planet Earth and regenerate in rhythm with the moon. We are both givers and hosts of life, and it is our nature to send out nutrient rich healing to our entire family like trees. So one only need look at the impact our society has on our natural environment to bear witness to the degradation of women, so much so that we forgot who we are.

Clearly, the thinking that got us here today is not sustainable, and we need a new solution to this old Problem. We can change our story but it has to start with us women. When we see our contribution to the systems of domination, where we spend our dollars, how we treat others, especially other women, and what we say to ourselves (and our thighs,) we will find our authentic power and birthright as healers. Our world needs us now, more than yesterday.

Here's the transcript for my talk, yet it is relative to every audience and individual...

I happen to think that we, interfaith women leaders have more power in impacting change than any other sector of society because we are impacting culture and belief systems at a grassroots level. We are givers, protectors and sustainers of life by virtue of our biological innate imperatives. We are only going to improve conditions and advance solutions because it’s wired into us and because we are the ones disproportionately impacted, right along side with nature.

It’s not too difficult to recognize the patterns that exist in the crises that we all face on a global scale. Wether it’s the climate crisis, nuclear nonproliferation, violence against women, war and conflict, each one of these are the most important thing to give our attention to and that’s just daunting, overwhelming and impossible to put on a scale of “most important/ most life threatening". We also asked the question- why are people working so hard for so long and we are still having this conversation, decades later?

I started looking at the patterns of each of these areas and because it’s imperative that we are effective as possible with our work and time. Let's began at the root systems which lead us to the cultural and societal patriarchy. We know that patriarchy is kept thriving in two major pillars of society, the corporate world, manifesting greed, and religion, manifested by belief systems and behaviors, stories and narratives- which, by the way feeds into corporate greed because it’s what we are willing to put up with and give our money and energy to.

We are also aware that women and girls, representing more than half of humanity, are disproportionately affected by these crucial matters and also constitute the majority of the world!

That means the women of the URI have an enormous opportunity (and I underscore) responsibility to leverage that network.

It’s our sacred work.

Q. What is your vision for women and girls in the future?

A world where it is absurd to even think that there’s such a thing as nuclear war materials, deforestation for greed, trafficking children, raising a hand to women, cheating a neighbor or a single child goes to bed hungry or insecure.

A world where greed is replaced with generosity, fear is replaced with curiosity, where girls know their innate creative genius and show up in the world with confidence, and without qualification that they are a girl.

My hope for women and girls, men and boys is to know a society where they are not the Problem to solve- the Problem to raise them in equality or parity, the Problem to stop the violence upon them, the Problem to educate them.

My expectation is that women and girls will be honored for their innate qualities and gifts to humanity and a natural part of leadership and decision making, in parity for a world that works for everyone. It’s possible and within our reach. It has existed in pre-patriarchal recorded history and I believe it’s happening with or without us. However, it will come a whole lot faster when women recognize our birthright of divinity and work on our own personal obstacles to live it fully.

Comment Below