documentary discussion

We Haven’t Come a Long Way. And We’re Not Babies

Kathy McCallie October 27, 2010

“Step by Step” is a documentary film about the women’s movement in the 1940-1970’s illustrating the power of courageous hard-working women to make a difference in the world. As a middle-aged woman who remembers the efforts to pass the ERA, I was profoundly moved watching the film. One lingering impression is the reality that women have been working decade after decade to chip away at sexism and gynophobia with only modest gains. I admit up front that I tend to be cynical, always the first to argue that the glass is half empty. Nonetheless, I felt impatient and discouraged remembering how much hope I used to have back in the 1970s and 1980s.

Back in those days there was an ad campaign that used the slogan: “You’ve come a long way, Baby.” Maybe it was for cigarettes. I just remember glossy pages of womens’ magazines carried the ads, and I liked them. The ads seemed to proclaim that women were making political progress toward equal rights. They depicted some old scene of a woman doing oppressive labor contrasted with a jazzy, new image of a liberated woman. Then the ERA failed to pass. How could that have happened? As my consciousness was raised further, I no longer liked the ads that suggested women should be grateful for the progress we had made. The pervasive message from the society claimed that women had it pretty good as compared with other times and places: “At least you aren’t being beaten and abused! You women have it better in the United States than just about anywhere in the world. You should be grateful for all the progress you’ve made.” After that I put up a poster on my office wall that read: “We haven’t come a long way, and we’re not babies!” After ERA failed, I was furious for several decades. My fury was reawakened watching the “Step by Step” documentary.

The film reminded me of how much enthusiasm and energy there was in the feminist movement in those days. Where is the movement now? Our Mary Daly discussion group feels like a lifeline to the hope that feminist consciousness survives. Let’s keep talking and reading – keep moving on the outercourse journey. I hope you will watch the documentary with me and tell me what you think about it.