Published: March 24, 2010

Post-Feminist Students? Think Again

Growing up in the college town of Amherst, Mass., in the late 60’s and 70’s meant feminism was simply a way of life. I recall my 3rd grade teacher telling us that girls could do anything boys could and just as well. At age eight, it had never occurred to me to think otherwise, but I was smart enough to figure out that somebody must. “Oh, well,” I thought to myself, “we’ve cleared that up. Next?”

Attending junior high and high school in the early days of Title IX and having numerous college friends who attended women’s consciousness-raising groups helped me realize that there was still a lot of clearing up to do, as well as a lot of work being done. So when I joined the faculty of the all-girls Stoneleigh-Burnham School in the Fall of 1985, I was excited to see how far high school students had come since I had graduated.

Not that far, it turned out. SBS students joined a generation of Madonna wannabes in asserting their power and strength as young women by… showing their underwear. In the eyes of many students, feminism had become a dirty word. I pressed one of my students, “Don’t you believe that you should be able to work if you want, at whatever job you choose, and earn a fair salary?” She responded, “Of course. And I will. But I’m...