If there are plans to resurrect the ERA, Florida is the last place to do it.

[The Backlash Cometh]

The ERA: Still a cause for some South Florida women, forgotten history for others

TALLAHASSEE—
For an entire generation of Florida mothers and grandmothers, the ERA was and is a passionate cause. But for a lot of their daughters, it's not their fight, and many don't even know what ERA — short for the Equal Rights Amendment — stands for or would mean, namely a constitutional ban on discrimination for reasons of gender.

And now, as a pair of South Florida lawmakers push for Florida to ratify the decades-old proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution, some question if there's truly a need.

"Our generation is different…it's not really an issue to us on a day-to-day basis," said April Thornton, 24, a business major at Broward College, who said she had never heard of the ERA.

Said Robin Jasmin, 19, a nursing major at Broward College: "It doesn't seem like things are unequal at the moment, of course it is there, but it's not in your face … it's one of those things that is unspoken, they're not going to tell you they're not going to pick you because you're a woman."


http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/fl-female-lawmakers-still--want-era-20110926,0,5719.story

[MADem]

1. It's not just women who backed the ERA. Plenty of men weighed in as well.

It just makes no sense for half the country to be treated differently as a consequence of gender...still, to this day, in the 21st Century.

It was the Selective Service Act that used to be hauled out to "scare" people against the ERA. "Poor little Susie will be drafted and sent to combat!! She is a helpless little flower, who must be sheltered from the hardships that her brothers will be required to endure!" Vietnam was still fresh in people's minds, they'd seen footage of the reality of war on the news.

I think the ERA is a good thing. Let's make no mistake, and no excuses. It's high time all men--AND women--were created equal.

[hlthe2b]

2. This is more wide spread than Florida...

and is the reason why the RETHUGS are free to go to war against women and their health. The ball was dropped and the younger women largely have no clue what was lost and what remains at dire risk. As one who recalls my Mother's sad & forever tear-filled recollection of her childhood friend's gruesome death --in the aftermath of an illegal abortion-- I know all too well what is at stake. And most women who entered male-dominated professions (as did I), lived the day-to-day bias and sometimes devastating sexual politics.

How we failed to pass the torch to the current generation of women, and impress on them how critical the "battle," just baffles me. But as we rightfully focused on GLBT and other pressing civil rights issues, women's issues have been "back-benched."

Depressing.. very depressing and I fear we will see some very nasty repercussions...

[Ineeda]

3. And women still often make less than men

for doing the same jobs. I remember back in the eighties I found out that a male peer was making $10K more than I was. When I questioned our boss, he said that the guy had a family to support. The guy had a working wife (a pharmacist) and 2 kids. I had a working husband (blue collar) and two kids. Our duties and our educations were identical, and I'd been doing the job longer. No argument would convince my chauvinistic boss. This still goes on today. So, in addition to protecting women's health care, etc., the ERA would be prohibit this discrimination.

[hlthe2b]

4. I am so struck by the comments of young women......

and even many my own age, who bristled at the term "feminism." When engaged in discussions about equal rights, I can recall so many young women squirming in discomfort. When really pressed they would dance around the subject, but ultimately admit that they were afraid that unless they showed disdain for the whole thing, denied its importance, or otherwise distanced themselves, they felt that men would not "like" them. And though the thought of going throughout their lives being paid less than man did seem to resonate with them, that concerned them less than being somehow branded "too feminist. " I can't tell you how prevalent this attitude was throughout the South, but I'm guessing it combines with denial elsewhere, even today.

[Ineeda]

5. It's worse than I thought, then.

It's incomprehensible to me that we've reverted back to that mindset. The gains we made way back when, though not complete, were substantial, especially in that regard. I'm old enough to remember the fight, as I actively participated in it. And I raised my daughters to not stand for any of the BS, as much as possible, and to carry the cause forward. And, BTW, my husband was also a big-time feminist. When the subject of equal pay would came up, he'd say that for me to make as much or more than him would make his life easier. Common sense, right?