Concluding Thoughts on Essay Series 6

One of the reasons I started writing these essays was that I couldn’t understand how the United States has moved from a country that was moving toward equality for women and men to a country where women are blamed for men’s unhappiness and where women’s rights are eroding, even fundamental rights such as control over their own bodies.

Recommendations about how to fight this backlash follow.

1. Everyone can educate themselves and children so that all understand that history isn’t just about men. Education about women’s accomplishments and contributions to society needs to be mainstream in U.S. educational systems and receive the same attention as men’s. If we don’t understand our past, we will repeat the mistake of preventing women from using their talents to benefit their families, communities, and country.

1. Everyone can learn about what is at risk when women’s contributions and leadership are ignored or minimized. The resources I cited in this set of essays can be helpful to anyone. The best history books, in my opinion, are Lillian Faderman’s 2022 book entitled Woman: The American History of an Idea and Susan Ware’s book entitled American Women’s History: A Very Short Introduction.

1. Everyone can speak up when they hear people disparage women or mock their abilities, provided it is safe to do so.

1. Everyone can pay attention to current events affecting women and get politically involved at the local, state, and national levels to preserve and expand women’s hard-won human rights.