We Cannot Return to a 1950s Patriarchal Structure

Last updated on: October 16, 2024 at 8:51 am by Julie Nichols

We Cannot Return to a 1950s Patriarchal Structure 2024-10-16T08:51:35-05:00 Julie Nichols

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Five years ago, I had not heard the word “misogyny,” nor did I understand what this word meant. I certainly was naive to the fullness of women’s rights and bodily autonomy. I didn’t know much about birth control, the complexities of abortion, or anything related until recently; I’m serious.

I grew up and married into in a conservative Republican patriarchal nuclear and extended family structure where everyone supported this model except a few extended family members. I went to college (Baylor University in the 1990s) in a conservative Republican patriarchal structure. I married a traditional conservative man from a traditional family, but he’s a kind and wonderful man who I’ve loved for over 30 years. I definitely made the right decision when I married my husband Grant in 1993 and believe God brought him into my life. Until three years ago, I thought a traditional patriarchal structure (not all white) was important to the health and well-being of families. To some extent, this is important for some families, but over the last 8-10 years, I’ve learned that it cannot be applied to the many variations of the modern family we see today.

I still believe in family and fighting with love to keep it strong. I believe in parents who love their children regardless if that family structure is a traditional family structure or not. All families have equal value and should have equal opportunities, and this includes single parent families, blended families, gay families, and additional modern family structures which we see today. They should be supported and not restricted and subjugated. We cannot force a 1950s model of the nuclear traditional family on broader society which Project 2025 is attempting to do. It’s a grave threat to human rights for all people, minorities, and women.

In short, I didn’t become a more liberated woman until age 50; that was three years ago. However, racial and disabilities discrimination have always bothered me, so I was more liberated in these areas. Nothing, absolutely nothing, showed me the power struggle and the subjugation of women and minorities more than the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Observing men I knew for years support him unconditionally without hesitation showed me that the subjugation and abuse of women and minorities were “ok” which they are absolutely not. Thank God my husband said, “I cannot support Trump” even though he is a lifelong Republican as I was until 2016. It took everything within me to become a Democrat with my background, but I knew it was right because everyone deserves the same rights and freedoms regardless of who they are. As Roosevelt says, “None of us are free until all of us are free.”

My life will never be the same after Trumpism. It revealed the good, bad, and the ugly of patriarchal structures, and this includes both societal and religious patriarchal structures. We cannot force society to conform to a 1950s model because it’s a serious violation of human rights for so many groups of people; it would place millions of lives in danger as it’s already doing with extreme Trump abortion bans and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in many red states.

We have to support the many variations of modern families and people we see today and help them become their best, not what Project 2025 wants to force on the nation which is a reinstated 1950s brand of the white male patriarchy. That only benefits a minority portion of society. Our constitution says that all people are created equal and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

As a person who believes in God, I believe that all people regardless of who they are are equally-sacred and equally-created in God’s image without exception, and this should be reflected through equality and treating all people with equal human dignity and respect. That means providing equal opportunities both in our laws and practices.

Religious and societal structures must adapt to modern society and not place this burden of conformity on the variations of families and people we see today. We’re not going back. Harris-Walz

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