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Jonathan Lumley

April 30, 2018

Professor Soyer

Phyllis Schlafly: Female Fantasies

Phyllis Schlafly was in the front line to bring about the fight against the violation of the rights of the civilians. She began this fight for the rights on regards with the gender, the battle which later on brought an impact on the different debates in the political agendas. With her continued fight for human rights, this scholar emerged to successfully bring out achievements in the society whereby she mostly recalled for the continued conservatism that did not give a chance for the abortion (Falaah, 2016). She focused mostly on the violation of the women rights in the society, whereby she ensured there is no harm on the female or the family in whole. It is clearly evident that this fight by Phyllis Schlafly brought on board national dialogues and they mostly focused on her legacy over this battle for the rights equality in the society. It came into recognition that since many years ago, of the different classes of people ever lived in America, the American women had not been recognized and that, they were looked down in different ways including the violation of their rights. This came out bearing in mind that the American women are very much privileged. Phyllis Schlafly therefore brought the acknowledgement that the circumstances women are in in the United States is a fortune. In addition, Schlafly notified that women have all the rewards they need, including the rights and the duties which are mandated for them.

In 1970s America, there was a big shift in culture, women's rights were an important topic in politics. There was a huge movement of women in America that felt oppressed and wanting the same and equal treatment as men. On October 12, 1971, the House of Representatives approved the Equal Rights Amendment by a vote of 354 to 23 (Kolbert). Five months later, it was passed by the Senate 84 to 8 (Kolbert). “The amendment would have expanded women’s rights by barring any gender-based distinctions in federal and state laws”, and was nearly about passed into law in the United States (Martin). After it was passed by the Senate the Equal Rights Amendment was sent to the states for ratification and it wasn’t until then that Phyllis Schlafly’s power and influence was felt across the nation. Known by other conservative right-wing figures as “the first lady of the conservative movement” (Martin). To others who supported the Equal Rights Amendment she was known as an “Aunt Tom”, redefining the name from Uncle Tom, for its idea of racial betrayal; to a woman who used her public stature to argue for the confinement of women to the domestic sphere (Martin). Schlafly fought for what she called the “rights of the wife” and wanted to defend the society America seemed to be steering away from in her eyes. Having the traditional family, particularly, the role of women play as domestic housewives.

Phyllis Schlafly argued that everyone has a good fortune and the rights to explore or live in the society which is civilized and always has got a special respect towards the society’s basic unit. This emphasized the idea that this respect for women is within the concept of the customs and the laws of society. This was in regards with the fact it is always the women who have got the capabilities of having babies, and not the men at all. In addition, she explained that it is not selfish for the women to have the babies and not the men just because it is a fundamental difference which was only brought by God during the times of creation and anyone with any disagreement with this fundamental difference, he or she should therefore deliver the complaints to God. This is not the fault of women but it was established by God to be in such way and not for the idea or the benefit of domineering over the male gender (Markhgeim & Moskalenko, 2014). Therefore, with regards to the civilization of the Judeo Christian, there has been developed the fact that the custom and the law suggests that every woman is subjected to the sex act and the possible relative challenges and she has to bear with it. In the other hand, it is very clear that the man also must bear with the consequences but in other different ways to pay. With this ideology, a man is decreed by these customs and the law that he has to bear his share physically by protecting and giving out the financial support to his family, basically the children the woman who gives birth those children. The achievements of Phyllis Schlafly and the battle over the equality on the rights amendments impacted on liberating the female chauvinism which had greatly invaded the society’s laws and the customs (TEICHMAN, 2009). Despite the fact that Phyllis was subjected to many challenges over the fight, she later on emerged a winner whereby she instituted the family as whole. It therefore paved the way for the identification of the significances of women in the entire society, in regard to the society where it was basically ingrained in the customs and the laws of the civilized Judeo Christianity. In addition to the fight of these “rights of the wife” it also instituted the women with their basic rights to give birth and keep her baby and enjoy watching the growth of the child as the child being protected by the father and fully supported by the father as well. In addition, the reason why Phyllis Schlafly elaborated on the privileges of American women is that, everybody is a beneficiary of a given tradition whereby it deserves special respect. This respect is basically on the women with the aspect of dating from the Chivalry Christian Age. She compared the aspect of honor given to the Lady Mary mother of Jesus and postulated that this respect deserved all the women. She further explained that this respect for women is not just like lip service paid to God by the greedy politicians or just opening variety of doors for women as is the case the young agitators consider it (Albertyn, Fredman & Fudge, 2007). In those particular manners, they are considered merely as the evidences to prove the particular attitude toward women in the society. Schlafly also considered the aspects of other different locations including Africa and the American Indian, where she elaborated on the nature of the men, some wearing the feathers and the beads during the activities of fishing and hunting while on the other hand, the women were subject to hard activities including the soil tiling, wood hewing, and fire making. Simply the activities were very drudgery and tiresome. In addition to the achievements of Phyllis Schlafly, the other significant reason as to why the American women was privileged is because of the fact that the free enterprise system was in a position to produce the remarkable inventors in the society and with them the women work was back broken (Clucas & Sharpe, 2013). In some other places, one could hear the incidences of men having to work from the sun up to sun down but never involve the women doing their work too. Generally, these enterprise systems are immensely significant in providing gigantic amounts of particular foods and ensured the continued supply of the varieties of foods.

Phyllis Schlafly did the unthinkable in a time when women felt the need to stand up for themselves. She had her own viewpoints and opinions on the way the American society should operate and she took action to make a change regardless of how it was perceived by the masses. Whether her ideas were outlandish or comical, Phyllis Schlafly will play a pivotal role of why the Equal Rights Amendment died in 1982 and that is something no one can take away or deny.

References

Albertyn, Fredman, and Fudge, (2007). Introduction: Substantive Equality, Social Rights and Women : A Comparative Perspective. South African Journal on Human Rights, 23(2), pp.209-213.

ARAT, (2015). Feminisms, Women's Rights, and the UN: Would Achieving Gender Equality Empower Women?.American Political Science Review, 109(04), pp.674-689.

Clucas, and Sharpe, (2013). Women Bishops: Equality, Rights and Disarray. Ecclesiastical Law Journal, 15(02), pp.158-174.

Falaah, (2016). Islamic Shari’ah and the Rights of Women: The Maldives’ Thirst for International Human Rights Norms of Equality and Non-Discrimination. Muslim World Journal of Human Rights, 13(1).

Kolbert, Elizabeth. "Firebrand Phyllis Schlafly and the conservative revolution." The New Yorker, Conde Nast, 7 Nov. 2005, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/11/07/firebrand.

Markhgeim, and Moskalenko, (2014). CONSTITUTIONAL ENTRENCHMENT OF THE PRINCIPLE OF THE EQUALITY OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS FOR MEN AND WOMEN: ANALYSES OF FOREIGN PRACTICES. Law and modern states, 6.

Martin, Douglas. "Phyllis Schlafly, ‘First Lady’ of a Political March to the Right, Dies at 92." The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 5 Sept. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/obituaries/phyllis-schlafly-conservative-leader-and-foe-of-era-dies-at-92.html.

TEICHMAN, (2009). Equality and the Rights of Women. Philosophical Books, 22(4), pp.227-230.