How to make women 'happy'
March 16, 2006
The Happy Feminist has a wonderful post about the recent discussions in the media of whether feminism has made women happy, as if this were a goal in the secret feminist manifesto that was written long ago. I couldn't say it better myself:
To frame the effectiveness of feminism in terms of whether it makes women happy is just one more way of patronizing women. It smacks of, "Oh, but the slaves are so well-fed and content on the plantation" or "you'll be so much if it happier simply accepting the status quo rather than challenging it." For example, I might very well be happier than I am now if I were a well cared for corgi, or a five-year old child, or someone who has had a lobotomy. But that doesn't mean that becoming a corgi or reverting to childhood or having a lobotomy are acceptable outcomes.
