Feminism and schlemiels
Judith Warner's New York Times op-ed piece caught my eye with its opening quote from Bella Abzug, one of my heroes: "Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an assistant professor. It is for a woman schlemiel to get as quickly promoted as a male schlemiel." Warner's piece was, as you might guess, about Sarah Palin. (I won't say more about her for fear of threatening our 501(c)3 status.)
Apologies and respect to Abzug, but I disagree with her statement. To my mind, the battle of feminism is not to have women incorporated into the unjust systems of power that promote unqualified people based on other criteria (e.g. looks, wealth, connections, etc.). Sure, that would help some women and would indicate that gender is no longer a barrier to success. But feminism is not about helping some women. It's about changing the system in structural ways so that everyone benefits.
I'll give Abzug the benefit of the doubt (really, how could I do otherwise?) and assume that by "our struggle today" she meant in the 1970s - and if she were alive today, she'd hold up a different goal. Because for all the talk in this election about shattering glass ceilings, the point is not to get one person past those jagged fragments of glass, but to rethink architecture so completely that ceilings are a thing of the past.
Double your impact to amplify Jewish women’s stories—
All gifts matched up to $35,000
Before you close this article, please consider supporting the Jewish Women’s Archive and uplifting Jewish women’s voices.
At JWA, we preserve the voices of Jewish women and gender-expansive people past and present, share them freely with millions online, and empower a new generation of Jewish feminists to lead with courage, creativity, and conviction.
But none of this happens without you. JWA is an independent nonprofit— we rely on people, like you, who believe that history belongs to all of us and that the voices of Jewish women must remain powerful, and heard.
This month, a generous JWA board member will match every gift dollar for dollar—up to $35,000—through June 30. Your contribution goes twice as far right now.
Every contribution—no matter the size—helps us document, teach, and inspire through Jewish women’s stories.
It takes less than a minute to make a difference.
Thank you for being a part of the JWA community,
Judith Rosenbaum, CEO
