Women: A Minor Majority

With women making up 51 percent of the U.S. population, you would think the Republican platform would be a tad more sensitive towards the individual rights of women. While the argument remains that Republicans want to preserve the religious integrity of the party by stressing the importance of family values, it still baffles me that the GOP wants to hold America in what seems like a 1950's time capsule reminiscent of the movie "Pleasentville" where women are strictly mothers and men are the main breadwinners. It should concern the women of this country when a candidate for president in the year 2012 has yet to comment on something as basic as his stance on equal work, equal pay- which Romney has not yet done.

After taking a women's studies course and learning of the years of struggling women have endured to merely get the right to vote, it deeply irks me that issues such as birth control and abortion are still up for political debate even after they were seemingly put to rest. I ask myself, if the government reflected the same male to female ratio as the population, would these issues still be relevant or even considered as controversial? Maybe. But I would be willing to bet that if women held 51 percent of government offices, birth control would be covered by insurance much like prescriptions for Viagra are for men. 

In a recent interview with the Huffington Post, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright voiced her concerns with the Romney platform and how it is losing female votes.

"I think there are some who believe they are actually protecting women, you know, and that it is better for women to be taken care of. I think women want to take care of themselves, and I think having a voice in how that is done is very important. And frankly, I don’t understand -- I mean, I'm obviously a card-carrying Democrat -- but I can't understand why any woman would want to vote for Mitt Romney, except maybe Mrs. Romney," Albright said.

I cannot help but agree with Mrs. Albright and her belief that the GOP platform is almost anti-female in its rhetoric that outlaws all abortion even in cases of rape or incest. I just cannot understand why any free-thinking women of any age or race would ever put the future of her body in the hands of a few white, male politicians, ever. That seems like the ultimate government overstep in the personal lives of its citizens. While I know conservatives like the idea of a small, "barely-there" government, it seems contradictory that they would support a government who can dictate who you can marry or the decisions you make with your love life.

But when it comes down to it, these laws restricting gay marriage and prohibiting abortion would in theory not affect those conservatives in power and their supporters. So then, is the government there not to help you but instead force you to conform to the lifestyles of those running the country? For a country that prides itself on being a "melting pot" of different cultures, I hope this does not become the case.

Sources and Related Articles:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/30/female-voters-obama-romney-poll_n_1844312.html?1346360706

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/03/madeleine-albright-mitt-romney_n_1852789.html