Sexism

  A few days ago I saw several articles on Yahoo about female members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints protesting outside the conference center where the Priesthood Session of the semiannual General Conference was being held. They were demanding to be allowed to attend the session even though it is closed to women.
  I didn't read any of the articles. I started thinking about all the articles I have read over the years of women protesting and demanding membership or entrance into places that were for men only. I've heard stories of hardships suffered by women who went into professions typically entered into only by men. I've endured a bit of that myself. I've heard stories about glass ceilings and old boys clubs.
  One thing I've never heard of is men wanting entrance into a women's organization. I've heard of girls wanting to join the Boy Scouts, but never boys wanting to join the Girl Scouts. I have heard of women protesting to be allowed to join the Augusta National Golf Club, but have never heard of men protesting to join the American Association of University Women.
  I have heard of women protesting sexist advertising. I've never heard of men protesting about sexist advertising. An example is General Mills. It's advertising has been built around Betty Crocker for a long time and aimed as far as I can see at women. Men cook. I know they do. Some of them are very good cooks. During the Olympics one company sponsored a series of ads titled "Thanks Mom". I admit I found this very puzzling. Did the dads of these athletes sit around and do nothing? Maybe all of them are from single parent homes. How come I didn't hear any protests over this? Yes,the mothers of these athletes do make great sacrifices. I believe the fathers do too.
  Why is there so much fuss and so much advertising around Mother's Day and not as much around Father's Day? I've never understood that either. Why aren't men out protesting around Hallmark for more cards and more advertising?
  I believe it is due to sexism. I'm beginning to wonder if somewhere deep in the minds of many of us is a perception that an organization of men is more important than an organization of women. That there are still things which are considered "women's work". That the value of a mother outweighs the value of a father.
  By now some of you may be boiling mad at me. How could I possibly write things like this? Women have been denied rights, oppressed and abused by men for years. Women have been taken for granted and had their contributions ignored and or ridiculed. I know this. I'm not denying this.
  I believe that women and men are equals. I believe that both genders should have the same legal rights and the same employment and educational opportunities. I believe in equal fairness. A man and woman doing the same job should be compensated equally. Promotions and pay raises should be determined on the quality of work not the gender of the person doing it. A man and a woman who commit the same crime should receive the same punishment.
   In my opinion we have come a long way. We have made great strides in opportunities for women. What we need to work on now is the subtle things that might not be noticed. We need to believe that just because an organization is comprised of women it is not less than one comprised of men. That work is work no matter who does it. That gender does not determine value and that we are truly equals.