I was at a birthday party this weekend and was reminded about the world being different having come a long way since I was a kid. I met an eighteen year old girl who was able to converse with me as if she were my age. I won’t tell you what that age is … but it is some multiples of hers. I couldn’t have done that when I was her age, not could anyone of that age I knew. Perhaps it is due to television or the internet or the exposure to the adult world that kids have now. Compared to my adolescence, these kids have come a long way.
As the party progressed, we sat down to dinner and I was seated to a lady who is a Canter. A Canter? I thought only men could be Canters. Not only was she a Canter, but she was able to officiate at weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, and Bat Mitzvahs. I thought of that phrase used by feminists, You’ve come a long way, Baby!
I remembered back in time when I took my first paying job and found out my immediate supervisor was a lesbian. I was terrified. What’ll I do if she thinks I’m cute? Eventually I found out that she was in a committed relationship with a long term partner. It never occurred to me that I might have had the same problem if my supervisor had been a man. Had that occurred to me in today’s world, I would have never given it another thought … at least not until the supervisor, female or male would have made a move on me.
Yeah, we’ve come a long way since then. Perhaps the glaring example of how far we have come is to know that we have elected the first African-American president. Yeah, maybe fighting for equality does pay off … but let’s not forget how much farther we have to go.
Interesting story on how far we have come. I really do think that things like the internet and other mass media tools have played a huge part in this process.
I was in Iran in the early 70s when the Shaw was still in power. I stayed in the main part of Tehran with the mass population, who at that time were leaning against his attempts to bring Iran closer to the west in attitudes, dress and a more equal place in society for women. I am not a Shaw advocate because I also saw what he was not doing for the population of that oil rich country.
Today, because of the ability of Iran to access the internet, a shift seems to have taken place. The population has adopted the more western dress and women are taking to the streets in protest of the conservative strangle hold the present government has on its’ people and the freedoms that they want. Change will happen there and I hope it is not going to be a violent change but I think the tone has been set already and violence may play a big part in that process.