Gender & Equality in 2022Under US law, are we all equal? I am asking these questions with regards to us as thinking feeling human beings. I pose this after a startling discovery. While I was watching a TV program, I saw a commercial that – I don’t know how to adequately describe what it was I felt after seeing the 30 second spot. Imagine, if you would, an ad for home owner's insurance depicting a young couple in their respective roles of bearded husband and doting wife viewing the progress of their new home build. Since the first episode in the mid-1970s, I’ve been watching This Old House. It’s one of the very few television programs I watch on a regular basis. This past fall’s series was about a tiny rural Massachusetts house being retrofitted into a large soaring palatial home. The various contractors were installing huge windows in open spaces, crafting plush marble bathrooms, and installing the latest technology, all the while keeping the street facing facade of a small house. It’s clear the completed home will be far out of the reach of most working-class Americans. Yesterday evening, I watched the final episode of the fall series which was the rap, the reveal. When the program intro was done, a series of short 30 second commercials aired including Home Depot, Gorilla Glue, and … an ad for homeowners insurance. While the soft-spoken male was describing what the insurance company was selling, I was transfixed on the young couple walking through what was presumed to be their new home under construction. What stunned me was their body language clearly describing their respective roles in life. What I saw was very suggestive of a 50s husband and wife relationship. A proud bearded man and his doting wife… My God, have we as a culture finally digressed? What happened to equality? On PBS, nevertheless. Note. My indictment is not towards the insurance company. They are doing what is best for the profitability of the company and their stockholders. In the above, I was focused on the US population as a whole for not accepting and embracing equality. Note. The Home Depot ad seemed to contradict the above. This advertisement pictured four to five different women who were successfully painting, installing plumbing and lighting fixtures, etc. The ERA The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA): “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.” The ERA passed Congress in 1972 and was quickly ratified by 35 of the 38 states needed for it to become part of the Constitution. As the seven-year time limit for ratification approached in 1979, Congress and President Jimmy Carter controversially extended the deadline three years. However, no additional states ratified. To this day, it has yet to become part of the US Constitution. Though this attempt to enact legislation to add the Equal Rights Amendment for women to the constitution, it soon fell out of favor with most Americans and was forgotten. It appears the traditional values of manhood are still being emphasized in various religious sects, most parental teachings, and the broadcast mediums. Because of the rejection of the Equal Rights Amendment, with the notable exception of when it pertains to the right to vote, sexual equality is not protected by the U.S. Constitution. However, in the late 20th century, the federal government and all states did pass legislation protecting the legal rights of women. But I ask, why didn’t the ERA become part of the US Constitution? Please read Land Of Singledom - A quite poignant iconoclastic description of a disturbing disparity between the sexes. E 2022
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