Longtime Feminists Lose Hope for Change in their Lifetime

Shannon Fojtik

TUCSON, Ariz. - One common belief among women who have witnessed current events brought on by the Trump administration and have lived through several waves of feminism has become, “I will die waiting for true equality among men and women.”

Rebecca Seybert is a longtime Tucsonan, a former history teacher and a 69 year old feminist.  She has witnessed and been involved with the fight for women’s rights all her life, while also experiencing much discrimination due to her sex.  

According to Rebecca, she gradually has seen progress take shape over her years, but with the recent confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, the feeling of hopelessness has been hard to get rid of. This feeling has been consistent among many women, Glamour magazine reports in their photo series from protests during Kavanaugh’s confirmation.  

The message of shock, outrage and disbelief for those who have been a victim of sexual assault has been felt by many women throughout the country.  Xoe Watchman, a member of Feminists Organized to Resist, Create and Empower (FORCE), the women’s rights group at the University of Arizona, commented on the Kavanaugh confirmation saying, “It felt like getting punched seven times.”

Anna Keene, another member of FORCE and a UA student, participated in the recent on-campus 2018 Slutwalk, a peaceful march to show the strength of the feminist movement and to push the fight for women’s rights.  At the event, she said, “The [Kavanaugh] confirmation made me lose so much hope.”  In addition, Anna said how she wasn’t surprised in the lack of support from Senator Jeff Flake for the best interests of women during the Kavanaugh hearing.

Both younger and older generations share this feeling of distress in regards to the current women’s rights movement and feelings are proving to also be inclusive of fear for what the future might hold.

“I’m scared,” Rebecca said, adding how current times in terms of women’s rights have been incredibly discouraging for her as somebody who desires equality among men and women. “You better believe it, it’s like the ‘good ol’ boys’ are turning things around to make us go back to what we were.”

From Marie Curie winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1903 for her work with radioactivity, to American tennis champion Billie Jean King proving victorious over her male competitor in 1973, women have always been underestimated, according to the Smithsonian’s online magazine.  In history, they were not typically expected to achieve that which a man might be able to, but have continued to fight to break the barrier.  

History for women’s rights was made in 1994 when the Violence Against Women Act was passed by Congress, reported the Smithsonian.  With this act, crimes including domestic violence and sexual assault were began to be taken more seriously and the process of taking legal action for these crimes was improved, but issues still persist to present day.  Victim blaming has been a large problem for sexual crimes against women and has hindered the process of effectively pursuing justice following a possible sex crime.

In her almost seven decades of life, Rebecca has lived through much memorable history for Americans, and she now believes current times will be one of the most pivotal.  The struggle for women’s rights has been ongoing all of her life and has been ever changing and growing.  While there has been change since the first wave began around 1912, there are still clear examples of discrimination for women in today’s society. 

“When I was growing up, we didn’t realize it so much as discrimination, but instead that’s how it always had been,” she said.  She later added how important it was to not fall back into inequality and discrimination becoming a norm once again.

According to the World Health Organization, one in three women will experience sexual or  physical violence at some point in their life because of their sex.

Beth VanLone, 41, Rebecca’s daughter and mother of three lives in Monterey, California and remembers her experiences in highschool and college when sexist ways were consistently exercised.  

In highschool, Beth worked at a spice plant in Texas where men frequently made animal noises and derogatory slurs to her because she was a “career and education minded woman.”  Additionally, Beth said during her time at Arizona State University, while studying architecture, which is a field dominated by mostly men, men mocked her on a regular basis because of her sex. 

Rebecca and Beth are only two of countless women who have experienced some kind of discrimination.  Rebecca’s experiences include a refusal for employment as a middle school history teacher solely because of the fact that she is a woman.  Despite this and other encounters, Rebecca believes the future holds promise for women’s rights, even if it may be beyond her lifetime.

“Women are not going to stand for it.  I think the generation that’s going to come up is going to be very proactive and I think we’re going to see good things from them,” she said.  “We have got to get some of the older people out of Congress.  These old guys that are past 80, they need to be gone.  You need people who are living really, people who are working in the world as it is now.”

Matthew Rein, the associated students of the University of Arizona Executive Vice President, understands the current events do have a discouraging tone in regards to women’s rights. Rein admits current times “feel daunting,” but encourages the thought that he does believe in his generation of future leaders and that moving forward with those leaders is hopeful.

“It’s easy to feel helpless,” said Rein.  He encourages the continuing fight for equality and added, “We have a real responsibility to mold the future.”

Xoe added how despite the apparent setback of the Kavanaugh confirmation in regards to the feminist movement, women are “standing back up, ready to take the eight [punch].”  She admitted recent times have been “painful and hurtful, but we are strong and nothing will stop the power of women.”

“A lot of people groan about today’s group and this younger generation, but I don’t feel that way at all,” Rebecca said.  “I feel we have some very vocal young people coming up. So, I’m very optimistic about the group of leaders I see coming.”

Throughout history, the issue of creating change in the United States has always been the ongoing issue, whether it be with the abolition of slavery, improving labor laws for workers or changing foreign policy to help secure peacetime.  The continuing struggle for women’s rights proves to be no different. 

“Generally throughout our history, white men have been the majority of the influence in our country so now they’re afraid of there to be diversity,” Rebecca said.  “They need to not be afraid of it and to know there’s nothing wrong with it.  I see a lot of fear: fear of change, fear of losing power.”