Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Because It Was Right, Because It Is Right

Because It Was Right, Because It Is Right

Last updated on: October 8, 2018 at 9:34 pm by Mary Pezzulo

Because It Was Right, Because It Is Right 2018-10-08T21:34:28-04:00 Mary Pezzulo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When I was a little girl, I saw photographs of the Suffragettes standing gracefully in their corsets, long dresses and enormous hats. They held signs and sometimes pushed baby prams, the epitome of ladylike poise.

I had a garbled view of history, as most children do. I thought that women’s liberation was a mostly American movement that began with Susan B. Anthony and ended with the 19th amendment– when, after those lovely demonstrators in big hats had marched and carried their signs, the men in Congress graciously conceded their point and granted them suffrage, and all the world was made well by our example. It was all sweet and lighthearted enough to be poked fun at in Mary Poppins and other children’s entertainment.

When I grew up, I saw the other pictures. The ones we don’t show children. The pictures of graceful women in that same awkward Victorian dress lying on the ground being kicked; doubled over being beaten; shielding themselves from projectiles. The pictures of suffragettes being dragged off to prison by old-fashioned policemen in genteel uniforms acting anything but genteel. The pictures of suffragettes tied up and force fed.

I started to read. I learned that this was a movement that was not an American innovation– though, of course, there were many notable Americans involved. I read Mary Wollstonecraft, Abigail Adams, Anne Knight, Sojourner Truth; women who came well before those graceful Victorian suffragettes and pleaded for equality, railed against inequality– but they didn’t get equality. They didn’t hope to get equality for themselves or for their daughters, but they said what they had to say anyway, because it was right. Maybe those graceful suffragettes didn’t expect to get anywhere either, but they organized, and they kept fighting. They persevered, in spite of terrible violence and persecution, because they were right.

I looked around myself and saw that things were not the way I’d understood them to be in modern times, either. It had been presented to me that every feminist after the ratification of the nineteenth amendment was just an hysterical fool, an attention seeker, someone who secretly wanted to erase authentic femininity and kill unborn babies. I was told that we all became equals in 1920 when women won the right to vote. I was given the example of how feminists rallied around Bill Clinton and his inexcusable treatment of other women, to show me that feminism was all a sham. I despised Bill Clinton, and I still do.

But I have discovered that it’s not all a sham.

When statistics predict that one in five women will be raped at some point in their lives compared with one in 71 men, it’s not a sham.

When violence against women is so commonplace that we’re mocked if we bring it up and accused of being hysterical if we press the point, it’s not a sham.

When a man who brags about grabbing women by the genitals and walking into locker rooms to leer at teenage beauty queens can be elected president, it’s not a sham.

When a woman can testify that she was sexually assaulted by a man who went on to be a powerful judge, and I hear so many people say “even if he’s guilty, I still hope he gets on the supreme court,” and then he does get confirmed by the senate, by male and female senators together, without a thorough investigation, because political turf wars are more important than taking violence against women seriously, it’s not a sham.

And before anyone says that Kavanaugh’s appointment is really about saving the lives of unborn children– it’s not. It simply isn’t. I am pro-life. The number of abortions I’d be happy with taking place is zero. But I know that overturning Roe versus Wade will not make abortion go away, nor even ban legal abortion– you’d be surprised at how many pro-life people think that those three distinct things are the same. And I agree with Senator Collins, at least insofar as she says that Kavanaugh is not going to touch Roe Versus Wade. As far as abortion is concerned, I believe this is a red herring. I could be wrong. There are genuinely pro-life justices out there. I don’t believe Kavanaugh to be one of them. And even if he were, there are pro-life justices without any sexual assault accusations against them– ones who would never talk back to a female senator as disrespectfully as Kavanaugh did during his hearing. He wasn’t kind to anyone, but I heard him answer female senators far more offensively than he did to their male colleagues again and again. It was obvious to me, and to everyone who was listening to the hearing with me. Whatever he says, this is not a man who respects women as equals. He may or may not have sexually assaulted anyone, but he isn’t especially pro-life and he doesn’t respect women.

And I am very angry. Most of the women and men I know are angry at this. I’m discouraged beyond words that this is the world I live in. I don’t expect it to get better soon. I expect it to get worse before it gets better. I don’t think I will be handing on a world that respects women to my daughter, maybe not even to her daughters.

I realize that a struggle for a world that values and respects women will not be a graceful or a simple matter. It’s going to be a terrible thing. It will be expressed to us again and again that we live in a world where we do not matter, and this will not be expressed merely in words but in a redoubling of violence.

But we must persevere.

We must keep fighting.

And I will.

Because it is right.

(image via Wikimedia Commons)

The New Pro-Life Movement

Previous Post

October 4, 2018

We Might All Try Respecting Each Other

Next Post

October 8, 2018 A Series of Mishaps and Rescues

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Abuse Advent America American Christianity angel angels Annunciation Appalachia apparition apparition chaser apparition chasers apparition culture art art review babies baby baby Jesus Bad Lip Reading bad statue contest bath beauty Bible story blog blogkeeping blood book review Brandon Sanderson breastfeeding bus Catholic catholic conspiracy alarmism Catholic Oppositional Disorder Charismatic Renewal Charlie the Cat chastity Christ Christian idenitity Christianity and Judaism Chronic Illness clean clothing COD piece comedy compassion conscience conspiracy theory conversion cop-on-black violence Crucifixion cry of the poor culture Daesh Daily Saints death death penalty devotional diaconate diaper diapers dirty disability Donald Trump Dorothy Day dream drugs Eastern Catholicism Eastern Christianity education election election update Elsewhere on Patheos empathy environment Fear feminism film review fish flashback fluffy buns food Franciscan University of Steubenville Friendship Room fun Gabriel gardening gospel hair-splitting Heaven hell heresy Hillary Clinton history Holly the Witch Holy Spirit holy war Homeschooling homosexuality horror human dignity humor Icon idol immigrants infection inter-religious dialogue Interpretation of Scripture Islam Jesus Jihad Joseph joy laity and lay vocations lamb dinner laundry lent lgbtq literature love manners Mary Medicine and Science Meditation mercy mess milk misogyny Missouri monasticism monster motherhood mourn with those mourn movies movis music mystery nature neurodiversity New Pro-Life Movement news nonsense nostalgia O antiphons obituary objectification Ohio Valley Ordinary Time ordination Ordo Amoris parable paradox Passover peanut butter personal beliefs pets philosophy Planet Charismatic poetry politics polls poop Pope Francis Pope Leo power in the Church prayer prayer request prayers preferential option for non-violence president presidential election priest primary private revelation pro-life prophecy Public face of Catholicism Pure Flix Q and A race racism random rape rape. sexuality reader's request Reckoners refugee religious trauma ressurrection Right to life Saints saints and celebrations same-sex same-sex marriage satire scandal secular feasts seder Seven Joys Seven Last Words sex sexual ethics sexuality silencing six months skid row slavery social justice Speculative fiction spiritual abuse spoon stain story suffering suffrage suffragette Sunday Gospel temple Tenebrae Responsories Terror the exorcist The Friendship Room The New Pro-Life Movement Things I Learned on the Internet tin cup traffic true story tv review Uncategorized USCCB vice and temptation violence Virtue virtue and vice war Way of the Cross whimsy whole life women's ordination work of mercy Year A

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

According to Hebrews, what two things cannot be shaken?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Faith and love A kingdom that cannot be shaken The word and Spirit Heaven and earth