I’ve been convinced for a long time that the one, true revolution in Western society in the last century has been the rise of female power.<\/p>\n
Every other -ism and -ology — every other religious movement and political reform — has been seen before in one form or another.<\/p>\n
The tides of human endeavor wash in and out and very little of substance changes.<\/p>\n
But never in the known history of mankind have women aspired to and claimed co-equal power with men. <\/p>\n
There have, of course, been “primitive” tribal matriarchies and realms ruled by queens.<\/p>\n
But even in those societies men generally commanded the most powerful religious and economic institutions.<\/p>\n
Except in small, fragile enclaves, women as a whole remained the property of men.<\/p>\n
In much of the world, that structure remains firmly locked in place, particularly in parts of the world where traditionalist religions hold sway.<\/p>\n
But in the West, women have broken out. They hold some of the highest positions of power.<\/p>\n
At the grassroots level most are as free to determine their own fates as men.<\/p>\n
It’s an astonishing event, a kind of massive social experiment that affects every aspect of our lives, from the way we reproduce and raise our children to the way we earn our livings.<\/p>\n
And we have the great good fortune to experience it at first hand.<\/p>\n
On the whole, it has been a powerful force for good, liberating the creative energies of half our population.<\/p>\n
But the experiment is also remarkably new: In the US, women only gained the right to vote 87 years ago. <\/p>\n
That means there are tens of thousands of women alive today born into a society where they were disenfranchised.<\/p>\n
Title IX, which fostered the explosion of female athletics in America, was signed into law in the early 1970s. <\/p>\n
Naturally, a lot of men (and yes, women) are still pretty uncomfortable with women who wield serious power.<\/p>\n
Hillary Clinton was portrayed by the media as shrill and bitchy on the campaign trail. Journalists focused their cameras on Condie Rice’s thigh boots.<\/p>\n
These days, Nancy Pelosi is caricatured as a botoxed ice queen. And Sarah Palin is lampooned as a ditzy poser. <\/p>\n
In point of fact, they’re all revolutionaries. <\/p>\n
Setting aside their particular political views and unique talents (or inadquacies), they represent a society in mid-transition.<\/p>\n
It’s possible that Gov. Palin would flinch at the idea that she’s a feminist symbol, as well as a conservative icon.<\/p>\n
But long after the current culture war is forgotten, historians will remember this era as the Age of the Woman. <\/p>\n
Who knows? Palin might still emerge as one of the Founding Mothers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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