Question: What do you think the Women Rights Movement should be doing to be taken seriously?
As a student of civil disobedience, civil rights and political movements I would like to offer an answer to this smart and accurate question. To not just invigorate but set on course, the Women’s Rights Movement needs a single issue with measurable outcomes. Currently there is no single issue and therefore no way to measure an outcome.
For example, measurable single issues are: the rank of US in women in world leadership (69th), female leadership in Congress, a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing physical autonomy for all citizens and the ERA. The movement would have to choose one, focus and make the people on BOTH clearly defined sides KNOW that nothing less will do. That is what builds momentum, informs, forces leadership to organically surface and gives followers something to collect around.
As easily illustrated, not having a single MEASURABLE issue results in confusion with no leadership. It isn't that there aren't leaders and energy. It is that there is no issue to attract support and promote. Pick an issue as a movement. Make it a winnable one. Collect momentum. Never settle. And should it meet a failure on the road to success - do not disperse - but use the loss as fuel. You may note that the Civil Rights movement of the early 1960s had serious losses but transformed them to move forward.
Clearly for me, I believe it is the ERA. It seems obvious. The constitution is fundamental and until women are in it, nothing will reliably advance women in the US. It is winnable. It is POPULAR. It is easy to talk about. We have a true measurable successful movement just waiting to happen.
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