Misogyny in 2017
How We Came From Being Progressive to Degenerative
This article was originally published on www.rvzionne.com
Everyday, the very first thing I do when I wake up is to take a 15-minute meditation. Then, I dive into my morning coffee and news thread. It did not take me a minute to find another story about the atrocities of the Trump administration. But, there’s a new “trend” amongst politicians this week; it’s the revisiting of a decades old view on women.
Let’s face it. Women equality in society still has a ways to go, but circling back to the belief that women are simply lesser beings feels like an alien concept in our modern world. Yes. Women’s salaries are still lower per dollar than men’s, but I think we have a healthier social construct on womanhood than 50 years ago.
This was the very issue the European Parliament was debating about when Polish nationalist member Janusz Korwin-Mikke burst out of his seat to defend men’s “right” to earn more than women. To his defense, Korwin-Mikke said that women “must earn less” because they do not really have equal value to men.
“And of course, women must earn less than men, because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent. They must earn less, that’s all.”
What a blow to your tiny ego, Mr. Korwin-Mikke!
Though we hate to see these kinds of commentaries and even politicians representing nations in this era, they also help us realize how beautiful and powerful women are.
This is where Spanish Socialist member Iratxe Garcia Perez became everyone’s knight in shining armor.
After Korwin-Mikke’s comments, she shut him down immediately.
“Well, according to what you’re saying and according to your theory, I wouldn’t have the right to be here as a member of Parliament. And I know that you’re very upset and very concerned about the fact that we women can represent citizens on an equal footing with you.
“Now, I think I need to defend European women against men like you.”
According to BBC, Korwin-Mikke is now being probed on breaking the rules against defamatory, racist or xenophobic language in the Parliament.
Still, the question lies:
Why have these zombies come back from the dead?
I Blame The Real Trump Effect
This has happened in Europe, but this was inspired by the Trump’s manifesto — the crude, gangrenous brotherhood of white, male supremacy.
Ever since Donald Trump was voted into office, people who do not usually talk about these are now welcome in public. For them, if the highest position in the office talks like this and thinks like this, then I have the right to do so as well.
Trump has opened up the floodgates of the far right, reclaiming their throne in society that has now evolved and welcomed openness in culture and equality. For them… for these men, it has to go back to “the way it was,” where the women are in the kitchen and their throbbing egos are still the center of attention.
These men literally failed to progress. This would not be too much of an issue if these men not holding power in public office or were not leaders of the corporate world. But, the sad thing reality is that they are. They exist at the top because our systems are still placed to favor them. Though we have fought for decades to reach a certain level of equality, we still have a lot of work to do.
In 2017, these moments should not even exist, but for some reason, they are here. In these times that we have to be more active again in bring out our voices to the world, telling them that this thing that we have worked so hard on will prevail. Equality will win and society will continue to move forward, with or without them.
So, to end this, I would like to remind everyone what the great Martin Luther King, Jr. has said:
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
