Women's History Month

It is almost Women's history month, or as we know it around here, March. Last night it was #sschat and #engchat monthly meet up for #engsschat, and it was centered around Women in History. It was one of the most riveting chats I have  participated in. I was so enthralled in many conversations I didn't realize the hour was over. It flew by, as per usual for #sschat nights. But this one was a little different. I started off the chat thinking it would be another great night of crowdsourcing lesson plans, which it was, but it also had another element.

The discussion turned to women in the media, politics, stardom etc. After the chat was over I kept thinking about it. @EDSITEment brought up Seth MacFarlane's Oscar hosting, and all of its offensiveness. I woke up this morning still thinking about this, and was even more bothered that more people are not commenting on it. Why are we not in an uproar? Have we become desensitized to this behavior? Are we saying this is ok? Are we expecting this treatment now?
Why is it that we don't mention singers like Adele, without discussing her body? Why don't we comment on the pant suit that Lindsey Graham is wearing like we do Hillary Clinton? Why is it that women are striving to "have it all" with a career and oh my, a family to boot, when we never hear about men striving for this feat of "having it all."

I think one of the main things that has been bothering me is I am struggling to see how we make this change. I am also struggling with the fact that women are not helping the case out. When we look at women's magazines, ads, tv shows, etc, it keeps painting the same picture of what we "should" want.  I know it has been 50 years since Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique, but at times it doesn't seem that long ago.

I see this in my own life. My husband and I are not having children, shock, gasp, what. Any time someone hears this, because they have continuously asked me when the kids are coming, they resort to "you might change your mind." And yet, my husband does not get asked when the kids are coming.

I know having this month dedicated to Women's history is a great start. But we need to focus on the equality issue all the time. When there are only 4% of CEOs that are women, and women only make .77/1.00 of men, (and that number is even worse for women of color) we have an issue. When there are only 97 women in Congress, or 18.1% and yet women are over 50% of the population, we have an issue. When Congress won't vote for the Equal Rights Amendment, or the Violence Against Women Act, or the politicians (male) keep speaking about a women's right to choose, we have an issue.

How do we stop having a need for a Women's History Month and just have women taught throughout the year? How do we get the media to get on board with this idea? How can we convince our young girls that they need to be strong and have celebrated women heroes? I would love some feedback on this topic. Am I going overboard?