Oh feminism, you either love it or you hate it. I used to think that all feminists were radical and over the top, like the women in the video Men, Women and the Sex Difference by John Stossel (http://stream.byui.edu/VideoPlayer/BYUIplayer.html?StartCue=18&EndCue=2839&VideoName=5687_vcs&VideoType=libraryvideos). To me these women always seemed to have it so incredibly backwards. Men and women are different, many of these claims of discrimination just couldn't be true and honestly there really is no sexism left in the U.S. Those were all my thoughts. Then I saw it. It started when I got a job as a mover, doing mostly military moves. I was making $9.50 an hour doing the exact same job as the men whose starting wage was $15 an hour. I knew I was doing the exact same amount as the guys and my foreman often said how I he'd take me over any three guys on the team any day. Next came the gates to the airforce base. I always drove because most of the guys had suspended licenses. We had to show our IDs when we stopped to get the trucks inspected and again when we drove through the gates. 100% of the time the IDs were handed back to a male even though I, as the driver, needed them to present at the gates. Finally, was the comments on how this was a mans job and maybe I was just there to supervise or get snacks. Now I understood the anger of the women in the feminist movement.
Now I was confused. I knew that men and women have distinct and eternal differences, I have the most trustworthy sources, such as The Family: A Proclamation to the World (https://www.lds.org/liahona/2017/05/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng), that state that, "Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal and eternal identity and purpose." But now I had this view that some viewed me as unequal and maybe I needed to fight to make up for that. I struggled for a while trying to find a balance. And then it clicked. It is a balancing act. Yes indeed sexism still exists, some people (men and women), still act like women are incapable of doing things that men can do.I see that now. I also realize that the popular form of feminism currently involves degrading men and diminishing their sacred roles just as much as us women feel ours have been diminished. This is not the way to solve the problem. If we tip the scales too far one way or another than our divine nature inherited by the fact that we are God's children begins to be clouded. We each have infinite potential, we each also have unique talents. Some of those talents come from gender roles. We must learn of the gender roles assigned by God, then accept that each human has infinite worth and abilities. The key to the balance of these things is doing it with love, love for God and our fellow men. When we allow love to enter into our hearts instead of anger the issue of sexism and gender roles dissolves into a better functioning society.
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