When I first ran across this opinion piece via Memorandum, I figured it would be just another 3rd Wave (nutty) Feminism piece proclaiming Victimhood, which was surely written by the child’s mother. Reading it, perhaps this could be the start of a 4th wave, or a return to original feminism, as written by Alice Paul Tapper
I’m 10. And I Want Girls to Raise Their Hands.
Last year on a fourth-grade field trip, I noticed that all the boys stood in the front and raised their hands while most of the girls politely stayed in the back and were quiet. It made me upset.
On the car ride home I told my mom about what happened. We talked about how it seemed unfair and how boys and girls should be equal. My mom talks to me a lot about women’s rights and how women are treated differently.
Those, and the following paragraph, made it very much seem as if we were going to delve into Victimhoodology as taught by today’s feminists, but, wait, wait, Alice took it to her Girl Scout troop
We talked about it as a troop. All 12 girls in our troop said this was a problem they also noticed and we talked about how we could improve it. I suggested that we create a Girl Scout patch that would encourage girls to raise their hands in class and be more confident about using our voices. The other girls loved the idea, and they had other suggestions. As a troop we decided to go the local council, Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital, which represents more than 62,000 girls in the Greater Washington, D.C., region, to present our idea.
We decided to call it the Raise Your Hand patch. Its message is that girls should have confidence, step up and become leaders by raising our hands.
As with every patch in Girl Scouts, you have to earn this one. To get it, a scout needs to pledge to raise her hand in class and recruit at least three other girls who promise to do the same. As of this week, troops across the country can order the Raise Your Hand patch. I’m proudly wearing mine.
Seems a little light to earn it, but, then, these are just young girls, and this is more about empowering yourself than being a Victim, so, kudos, Alice Paul! She and her troop are refusing to be victims. They seem to understand that if you want power, you have to earn it. You have to take it. You have to be confident.
On their first date, when my mom found out that my dad’s middle name was Paul, she instantly knew that if she married my dad and had a baby girl she would call me Alice Paul. Alice Paul was one of the women who led the movement for women to have the right to vote. Having Alice Paul’s name makes me feel special. For women to be equal to men, we have to fight for it.
And kudos for that. If you want to know what real female empowerment looks like, look to Alice Paul, who was jailed for protesting for the right to vote. They even had a symbol, a little jail cell door pin. Paul did not back down, she did not stop fighting, and she refused to be a victim.
I have nothing but admiration for people who don’t whine to be given things, but set out to earn things themselves.