Women and Feminism

One thing that seemed to jump out at me is the empowerment that women seem to have here. It seems (again from what I can tell) that women here have more moxey. First a little history. In the 70's there was a break in Quebec from a very church based government to a secular government. The church was very male centric (and still kinda is) keeping women at home raising children. The government became more secular and socialist (not communist) with women starting to gain equal ground with men. By no means are things on a equal basis here yet and the same change has occured in the US, but I have noticed the difference in how women act and how they are viewed. For one, a year off of paid maternity leave along with ridiculously low daycare (7$/day) empowers women to be working mothers. I have noticed on the roads that women seem to be the same if not more aggressive than men. It seems there are many more women riding motorcycles than I remember seeing back home. And just in talking to them, there is this sense of quiet confidence that caught my attention. There is a lack of macho, tough guy, and bravado in men which may allow for that. I'll touch on the male psyche in a future post. Back home, many times when there were women in power there was a feeling that their drive for power was due to being oppressed toa degree in the past. Like there was something or someone to prove wrong. Of course, there are men who are like that, but it seemed women were fighting more of an uphill battle.

I am in no way implying that the women I know from Chicago are not strong women. I look up to all the women in my family and my women friends. Heck, my mother rides a motorcycle and runs a few marathons a year, how much stronger can you get? As with all my post, I am talking about the people I meet and see on the street and this is just one man's observations. Personnally, I have always felt men and women should be on equal ground.