Bitchy History - Why Gender Equality is Still a Debate： The ERA Story

00:00:00.000 Something that's, you know, kind of bitchy. 1.00

00:00:03.840 It ain't a cheek. 1.00

00:00:04.820 Bullishy?

00:00:05.580 I know. 1.00

00:00:06.040 It's just, you know, bitchy. 1.00

00:00:08.140 Well, first of all, you're a little bitchy. 1.00

00:00:10.560 That's next level bitchy. 1.00

00:00:13.280 Welcome to Bitchy History, the irreverent history podcast where one history professor 1.00

00:00:17.180 gets to bitch about history and the impact it has on the world today. 0.98

00:00:21.180 Welcome back to Bitchy History, where we untangle the messy threads of the past to figure out 1.00

00:00:25.420 why our present is such a hot mess. 1.00

00:00:27.780 Today's episode is about the Equal Rights Amendment.

00:00:30.000 or the ERA. A simple one-sentence proposal that somehow managed to spark one of the biggest

00:00:34.840 cultural wars in American history. What's wild about the ERA is how straightforward it is.

00:00:40.020 It literally just said, men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and

00:00:44.480 every place subject to its jurisdiction. At least that's the original version. It's had some edits

00:00:49.120 since then, but we'll get to that. That's it. Just 24 words. No asterisks, no fine print,

00:00:54.460 no wiggle room. Rarely have I seen anything so straightforward in any government legislation.

00:01:00.000 You try reading a congressional bill sometime.

00:01:02.580 I guarantee you're going to need a bottle of whiskey.

00:01:05.340 So with how simple it was and how foundational the concept of equality is supposed to be in American history,

00:01:11.840 you'd think this would have been an easy win, right?

00:01:14.540 Wrong.

00:01:15.340 Instead, the ERA became a battleground for competing visions of what America should look like. 1.00

00:01:20.160 On one side, you had feminists like Alice Paul, Betty Friedan, and Gloria Steinem fighting for legal equality. 1.00

00:01:26.700 On the other, you had conservative activists like Phyllis Schlafly claiming the ERA would destroy 0.97

00:01:31.780 the family, force women into combat, and, heaven forbid, create unisex bathrooms. Yes, this is the

00:01:38.300 story of a country that couldn't handle the idea of gender equality and one woman who made it her 0.83

00:01:42.940 life's mission to keep things that way. But before we get into what is arguably one of my favorite

00:01:48.340 activities, ripping Phyllis Schlafly a new one, let's rewind to where this story begins, the

00:01:53.480 suffragist movement of the early 20th century. To really understand the ERA, you have to understand

00:01:58.540 Alice Paul, the suffragist who wrote it. Alice Paul was, in a word, unstoppable. Born in 1885

00:02:04.620 to a Quaker family, she grew up believing in equality, activism, and the power of direct

00:02:08.900 action. By the time she hit her 30s, she had already been arrested multiple times for leading

00:02:13.580 suffrage protests and hunger strikes in both the U.S. and the U.K. After the ratification of the 1.00

00:02:18.860 19th Amendment in 1920, Paul looked at the state of women's rights and said, cool, we can vote now,

00:02:24.600 but what about everything else? She realized that suffrage wasn't enough. Without full legal 0.96

00:02:29.320 equality, women would always face systemic barriers. That's why she wrote the Equal Rights 0.93

00:02:33.980 Amendment in 1923. Originally titled the Lucretia Mott Amendment, the ERA was introduced to Congress 0.97

00:02:40.520 in 1923 during the 75th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention. Paul's goal was clear,

00:02:46.260 to make gender equality a constitutional guarantee.

00:02:49.940 On the ERA, Alice Paul had this to say,

00:02:52.520 we shall not be safe until the principle of equal rights

00:02:55.200 is written into the framework of our government,

00:02:57.440 and I never doubted that equal rights was the right direction.

00:03:00.620 Most reforms, most problems are complicated,

00:03:03.260 but to me, there is nothing complicated about ordinary equality.

00:03:07.440 Hell yeah, that makes complete sense to me.

00:03:09.780 Unfortunately, we are now living in a hellscape

00:03:11.980 where grown men say things like,

00:03:13.620 your body, my choice, and advocate for repealing,

00:03:16.260 the very amendment Alice Paul and so many others fought for, but I digress. Let's get back to the

00:03:21.560 1920s. America during this era was not exactly an equality-loving utopia. I'm pretty sure you know

00:03:27.860 that already, but I'm going to reiterate it. The Roaring Twenties may have brought flapper dresses 0.99

00:03:32.460 and women dancing and speakeasies, but the cultural shift stopped short, far short, of endorsing any

00:03:38.060 systemic change. This is a topic I've discussed in previous episodes of the show. Even some women's

00:03:43.320 groups opposed the ERA, just as some of them had opposed the 19th Amendment before it. Labor

00:03:47.600 feminists, for example, argued that it would erase workplace protections like shorter hours for women 1.00

00:03:52.120 and maternity benefits. To them, the ERA felt like a step backward, a threat to hard-won gains for 0.88

00:03:57.580 working women. Meanwhile, Congress basically ignored the amendment. They let it gather dust

00:04:02.520 for decades. Alice Paul and the National Women's Party kept pushing it, but it was like yelling 0.66

00:04:07.120 into a void. Progress stalled, and Paul spent the next few decades watching the ERA languish in

00:04:12.260 obscurity. It wasn't until the 1960s when second wave feminism burst onto the scene that the ERA 0.97

00:04:17.960 got its second chance. By the 1960s, feminism was back, and this time it was louder, it was angrier, 1.00

00:04:24.080 and it was ready to take on the patriarchy. This era gave us the National Organization for Women, 0.71

00:04:29.140 the groundbreaking Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, and the unforgettable demonstrations

00:04:33.540 outside the Miss America pageant in 1968. Which, by the way, did not involve bra burning, but that's

00:04:40.520 topic for another episode. The second wave wasn't just about getting women into the voting booth. 0.93

00:04:45.260 It was about challenging the entire system. Women were demanding equality in the workplace, 1.00

00:04:49.860 in education, and under the law. The ERA fit perfectly into this movement. In 1970, 0.94

00:04:55.460 now launched a massive campaign to revive the ERA. Feminist leaders like Gloria Steinem and 0.88

00:05:00.620 Shirley Chisholm gave impassioned speeches arguing that equality shouldn't be a radical idea. 1.00

00:05:05.480 It should be the bare minimum. In a speech she gave before Congress, Shirley Chisholm had this

00:05:10.280 to say. It is time we act to assure full equality of opportunities to those citizens who, although

00:05:15.920 in majority, suffer the restrictions that are commonly imposed on minorities, to women. The

00:05:21.700 argument that this amendment will not solve the problem of sex discrimination is not relevant.

00:05:26.160 If the argument were used against the Civil Rights Bill, as it has been used in the past,

00:05:30.640 the prejudice that lies behind it would be embarrassing. Of course, laws will not eliminate

00:05:35.380 prejudice from the hearts of human beings, but that is no reason to allow prejudice to continue

00:05:40.000 to be enshrined in our laws, to perpetuate injustice through inaction. The time is clearly

00:05:45.460 now to put this house on record for the fullest expression of that equality of opportunity which

00:05:49.800 our founding fathers professed. They professed it, but they did not assure it to their daughters as

00:05:54.620 they tried to do for their sons. The constitution they wrote was designed to protect the rights of

00:05:59.000 white male citizens, as there were no black founding fathers, there were no founding mothers, 0.85

00:06:03.820 a great pity on both counts. It is not too late to complete the work they left undone. Today, 0.72

00:06:08.740 here, we should start in doing so. In 1972, Congress finally passed the ERA with overwhelming

00:06:15.300 bipartisan support. The amendment, however, still needed to be ratified by 38 states.

00:06:20.900 At this point, the ERA had been changed somewhat, and it now read,

00:06:24.800 Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or

00:06:29.580 any state on account of sex. Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce,

00:06:34.160 by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Section 3. This amendment shall

00:06:38.720 take effect two years after the date of ratification. At first, it seemed like a slam dunk. It had

00:06:44.040 bipartisan support in Congress. Thirty states ratified it within the first year. Feminists

00:06:49.020 were celebrating. It felt like the tide was turning. By 1973, feminists were riding high 0.77

00:06:54.780 on optimism. The ERA seemed like it was a done deal, and the momentum of women's movements was

00:06:59.360 unstoppable. And then came the backlash, and it came in the form of one really annoying woman, 1.00

00:07:06.120 or as I see her, demon spawn, Phyllis Schlafly. Now, let's talk about the woman who single-handedly 1.00

00:07:12.460 turned the ERA from a near certainty into one of America's most bitterly contested battlegrounds.

00:07:18.080 If Alice Paul is the hero of our story, Schlafly is unequivocally its villain. Hey, you didn't come 0.72

00:07:24.780 here for my unbiased and dispassionate telling of history. You know what you're getting. Born in 1924

00:07:30.800 in St. Louis, Missouri, Schlafly grew up during the Great Depression in a conservative Catholic

00:07:34.980 family. She was brilliant. She graduated near the top of her class at Washington University,

00:07:39.840 earned a master's in government from Radcliffe College, and later attended law school at

00:07:43.660 Washington University while raising six kids. Yes, six. She was ambitious, she was articulate,

00:07:49.580 and she was unapologetically conservative. By the 1950s and 1960s, Schlafly had already made

00:07:55.080 a name for herself in right-wing circles. She wrote books, campaigned for Barry Goldwater,

00:07:59.340 and railed against the Soviet Union. But it wasn't until 1972 when she launched the Stop

00:08:04.560 ERA campaign that Schlafly truly became a household name. And what does Stop ERA stand for,

00:08:11.060 you ask? Oh, it's Stop Taking Our Privileges. Yeah, Schlafly argued that gender inequality

00:08:17.260 was a privilege for women. We find as we look into the matter that ERA won't give women anything 1.00

00:08:24.500 which they haven't already got or have a way of getting. But on the other hand, it will take away 0.80

00:08:29.940 from women some of the most important rights and benefits and exemptions we now have. 1.00

00:08:35.400 Yeah. To quote John Mulaney, we don't have time to unpack all of that, but let's just keep going. 0.88

00:08:41.340 Shockley's campaign was built on fear, especially the fear that the ERA would destroy everything

00:08:46.280 good and holy about American family life. She claimed the amendment would do three things 0.98

00:08:51.040 specifically, but there were a multitude of others. One, force women into the military draft. 1.00

00:08:56.620 Technically, this was true, but really, let's think about it. 1.00

00:08:59.540 The argument here was, end the draft, right? 0.51

00:09:03.100 Two, eliminate alimony and child custody preferences for mothers.

00:09:07.360 Well, it turns out that men don't fight for custody of their kids anyway,

00:09:10.900 and they don't pay alimony when you tell them to anyway, so that's not a big change, really.

00:09:17.600 And three, create unisex bathrooms, which would allow predators a hunting ground.

00:09:22.620 Oof, that one sounds familiar.

00:09:24.480 Now, let's be clear. None of this was in the ERA's text. I've already read the ERA's text to you.

00:09:29.980 It was fear-mongering, pure and simple. But fear works, and Schlafly knew it,

00:09:34.480 just as her ideological descendants at Fox News and the Trump campaign know it.

00:09:38.820 Schlafly wasn't just a master manipulator of rhetoric. She was a savvy organizer.

00:09:43.160 She mobilized an army of conservative women, many of them homemakers, 0.95

00:09:46.960 who felt threatened by the rapid changes of the 1960s and 70s. The women, unlike the National 0.98

00:09:51.840 Organization for Women were obsessed with being perceived as traditional housewives. Think of it 0.55

00:09:57.200 like the 1970s version of Trad Wives on TikTok. They encouraged women with children to bring them 0.99

00:10:02.880 to the rallies to show off being a mother and delivered gifts of homemade bread, pies, and jams

00:10:08.080 to state legislators in order to emphasize women's traditional roles. I was going to make a pun here 0.95

00:10:13.200 about bread rolls, but I feel like that's insensitive. Let's move on. Schlafly's rhetoric

00:10:19.060 wasn't just about the ERA, though. It was a direct assault on the feminist movement as a whole. 0.88

00:10:23.980 She painted feminists as radicals who hated men, despised marriage, and wanted to dismantle society 1.00

00:10:29.320 as we know it. In fact, in 2014, she was still trotting out that line and published a book

00:10:34.580 titled Who Killed the American Family? And I'll give you one guess who she blamed.

00:10:40.400 Unfortunately, her strategy worked. By 1977, Schlafly's campaign had successfully slowed

00:10:46.180 the ERA's momentum. Ratification stalled at 35 states, three short of the 38 that they needed.

00:10:52.740 The 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston, which brought together 2,000 delegates representing

00:10:57.760 every state to discuss everything from pay equity to reproductive rights, was meant to rally support

00:11:02.940 for the ERA, and it became a flashpoint for conservative backlash. Schlafly and her allies 0.73

00:11:08.140 framed the conference as a gathering of radical feminists pushing an anti-family agenda, with 1.00

00:11:13.000 Schlafly calling it the federal financing of a foolish festival for frustrated feminists. 1.00

00:11:18.340 I bet she worked all night on that alliteration. Schlafly held a counter-rally of 15,000 pro-family 1.00

00:11:25.060 supporters who met up only a few miles away from the conference and spoke about the evils of

00:11:29.780 abortion, lesbian rights, and the Equal Rights Amendment. It always makes me feel all warm and

00:11:34.080 fuzzy inside that Phyllis Schlafly would have specifically hated me for so many reasons.

00:11:39.600 Schlafly's ability to frame the ERA as a threat to traditional American values resonated deeply

00:11:44.440 with conservatives, particularly in the South and Midwest, like that's new. She turned the ERA

00:11:49.360 into a litmus test for cultural conservatism, linking it to issues like abortion, LGBTQ plus

00:11:55.080 rights, and even communism. Meanwhile, the Republican Party, which had supported the ERA

00:11:59.780 since the 1940s, began to shift rightward. By 1980, the GOP officially dropped its support

00:12:05.660 from the ERA from its platform. The ERA became a casualty of the culture wars. Schlafly's Stop

00:12:11.420 ERA campaign wasn't just effective, it was transformative. Her rhetoric didn't just stall 1.00

00:12:16.320 the ERA, it shifted the entire national conversation. The amendment, which started as a

00:12:21.560 bipartisan call for equality, became a polarizing symbol of the culture wars, and Schlafly was just

00:12:26.880 getting started. The Democratic Party, meanwhile, remained officially supportive of the ERA,

00:12:31.640 but its efforts to push for ratification were hampered by internal divisions and political

00:12:35.820 realities. By the time Jimmy Carter left office in 1981, the amendment's momentum had all but

00:12:41.360 disappeared. While the national conversation about the ERA played out on TV screens and newspapers,

00:12:47.240 the real battles were happening in state legislatures. Feminists worked tirelessly 1.00

00:12:51.600 to persuade lawmakers in the remaining states to ratify the amendment, but they faced an uphill 1.00

00:12:56.060 battle. Schlafly's grassroots network was relentless. Stop ERA activists flooded state

00:13:01.480 capitals with letters, phone calls, and personal visits. They framed their opposition in moral

00:13:05.960 terms, arguing that the ERA was an attack on traditional values and the American way of life.

00:13:11.220 In some states, lawmakers who initially supported the ERA began to waver under the pressure from

00:13:15.960 conservative constituents. In others, the amendment faced outright hostility. Congress

00:13:20.960 had originally set a deadline of March 22, 1979 for the ERA to be ratified. As the deadline

00:13:27.140 approached, it became clear that the amendment wasn't going to reach the required 38 states.

00:13:31.560 As a result, feminists lobbied Congress to extend the deadline, and in 1978, they succeeded.

00:13:36.480 The new deadline was June 30, 1982. The extension gave ERA supporters a glimmer of hope,

00:13:43.300 but it wasn't enough. Schlafly and her allies doubled down, and no additional states ratified

00:13:47.980 the amendment before the new deadline. On June 30th, 1982, the ERA's ratification period officially

00:13:54.260 expired. For feminists, it was a devastating blow. For Schlafly, it was a triumph. Honestly,

00:13:59.900 the look of mean-spirited glee in her eyes when she's giving speeches celebrating the failure is,

00:14:05.840 well, it's really something. That woman was not of God. Schlafly celebrated with her supporters,

00:14:12.520 declaring victory for the traditional family. Feminists, meanwhile, vowed to keep fighting, 0.97

00:14:16.500 but the momentum of the 1970s had burned out. The expiration of the ERA's deadline marked the

00:14:21.960 end of an era. Pun intended, you have no idea how many the era's tour jokes I have restrained myself

00:14:28.940 from putting in this episode. But the story of the ERA wasn't over, not by a long shot. In the

00:14:34.120 decades that followed, the amendment would see a resurgence in support, proving that the fight

00:14:37.980 for equality is never truly done until it's done. For decades after the 1982 deadline,

00:14:43.640 the Equal Rights Amendment was treated like a relic of a bygone era, a feminist dream that had

00:14:47.980 come tantalizingly close to reality but ultimately failed. For many, it seemed like the fight was

00:14:52.840 over. But the ERA, much like its supporters, refused to fade quietly into the night.

00:14:57.680 Fast forward to the 2010s, when a new wave of activism breathed life back into the movement. 0.97

00:15:02.540 Fueled by a new generation of feminists, the Me Too movement, and a growing public awareness of

00:15:06.720 gender inequality, the ERA re-entered the national conversation. The revival began truly in 2017,

00:15:13.080 when Nevada became the first state in 35 years to ratify the ERA.

00:15:18.420 What made Nevada's ratification so significant wasn't just a number, it was the timing.

00:15:22.940 By 2017, the cultural landscape had shifted dramatically since the ERA's push in the 1970s.

00:15:28.520 The Me Too movement was exposing systemic sexism in the workplaces, politics, and Hollywood.

00:15:33.880 Women were marching in the streets demanding justice and equality once more.

00:15:37.620 Nevada's ratification felt like a direct response to this cultural moment.

00:15:41.740 Inspired by Nevada's action, Illinois ratified the ERA in 2018, becoming the 37th state to do so.

00:15:48.300 By this point, ERA supporters were building serious momentum once more.

00:15:52.220 They needed just one more state to reach the magic number of 38.

00:15:55.740 The final push came in 2020 when Virginia ratified the ERA, officially bringing the total to 38 states.

00:16:02.640 Ayes 59, nays 41, abstention zero. 0.84

00:16:06.620 For the women of Virginia and the women of America, the resolution has finally cast.

00:16:12.080 This was a huge victory, a long-awaited culmination of decades of activism.

00:16:16.700 But there was just one problem.

00:16:18.460 The deadline.

00:16:19.680 You know, the deadline, the technicality that has kept the ERA in legal and political limbo ever since.

00:16:26.100 Congress had set a ratification deadline of 1979, later extended to 1982.

00:16:30.900 By the time Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia ratified the ERA, that deadline had been expired for nearly 40 years.

00:16:38.740 That raised a big question.

00:16:39.820 Can Congress retroactively remove a deadline for a constitutional amendment?

00:16:44.620 Proponents argued that yes, it absolutely could.

00:16:47.740 They pointed to the 27th Amendment, which had no deadline and took over 200 years to be ratified.

00:16:53.580 If Congress could certify that amendment, why not the ERA?

00:16:56.820 They make up their own rules anyway all the time.

00:16:59.960 Opponents, however, claimed that the ERA's deadline was binding and that any ratifications after 1982 were invalid.

00:17:06.540 Adding to the mess, five states—Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Tennessee—

00:17:11.460 had rescinded their earlier ratifications.

00:17:14.200 In response to these legal challenges, ERA supporters in Congress introduced resolutions to remove the deadline.

00:17:20.500 In 2020, the House of Representatives actually passed a resolution to eliminate the time limit, but it stalled in the Senate.

00:17:27.080 The Biden administration has been supportive of the ERA,

00:17:29.920 with the Department of Justice arguing that the deadline should not prevent its ratification.

00:17:33.680 But without clear legal or legislative action, the ERA remains in limbo.

00:17:38.840 Meanwhile, public support for the ERA has grown.

00:17:41.520 Polls show that a majority of Americans across political lines support adding gender equality to the Constitution.

00:17:47.880 This growing support is a testament to the changing cultural landscape in America.

00:17:51.920 Issues like pay equity, reproductive rights, and LGBTQ plus protections have made the ERA more relevant than ever.

00:17:58.140 For many young activists, the ERA isn't just about legal equality.

00:18:01.600 it's about sending a message that discrimination has no place in modern America.

00:18:05.920 As of today, the ERA's status is still unresolved.

00:18:09.240 Legal battles continue, with some arguing that the deadline should be removed,

00:18:12.880 and others insisting that the process must start over from scratch.

00:18:16.140 But one thing is very clear. The ERA is far from dead.

00:18:19.980 So why does the Equal Rights Amendment still matter in 2024?

00:18:22.900 After all, critics argue that we already have laws in place to protect against gender discrimination.

00:18:28.140 There's the Equal Pay Act in 1963,

00:18:30.760 Title IX of Education Amendments of 1972,

00:18:33.760 and various provisions of the Civil Rights Act.

00:18:36.580 Isn't that enough?

00:18:37.980 Spoiler, it's not.

00:18:39.940 First, laws can be repealed or weakened.

00:18:42.280 They're subject to the whims of Congress, the courts, and the political climate.

00:18:45.600 A constitutional amendment, on the other hand, is permanent.

00:18:48.920 Though, permanent-ish, anyway.

00:18:50.860 It carries a level of authority and stability that no ordinary law can match.

00:18:55.500 Take, for example, the issue of pay equity.

00:18:57.580 Women in the United States still earn about 82 cents for every dollar earned by men.

00:19:02.320 And yes, for the men in the audience who want to start arguing,

00:19:05.480 that is after adjusting for experience, age, and job type.

00:19:09.220 For women of color, that gap is even wider.

00:19:11.860 Without the ERA, lawsuits challenging gender-based pay discrimination are harder to win

00:19:16.040 because the Constitution doesn't explicitly prohibit that discrimination.

00:19:20.480 The ERA would provide a stronger legal foundation for these cases.

00:19:23.760 It would make gender a suspect classification under the law,

00:19:26.560 meaning that any government action that treats people differently based on their sex

00:19:29.940 would face strict scrutiny in court.

00:19:32.600 And the ERA isn't just about women.

00:19:34.360 It's about anyone who's been marginalized because of their gender.

00:19:37.440 Its broad language, which prohibits discrimination on account of sex,

00:19:40.820 could also be used to protect LGBTQ plus individuals.

00:19:44.500 For example, in the landmark 2020 case, Bostock v. Clayton County,

00:19:48.460 the Supreme Court ruled that discrimination against LGBTQ plus employees

00:19:52.060 is a form of sex discrimination under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

00:19:55.840 The ERA could reinforce this principle, making it even harder for future courts or lawmakers to roll back protections for these Americans.

00:20:03.160 Because, let's face it, we all know that Supreme Court decisions on civil rights aren't exactly written in stone these days.

00:20:10.040 And while we're on that topic, another area where the ERA could have profound impact is reproductive rights.

00:20:16.140 After the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, the fight for abortion access has become even more urgent.

00:20:24.860 While the ERA wouldn't explicitly guarantee abortion rights,

00:20:28.100 it could provide a stronger legal framework for protecting reproductive freedom.

00:20:32.620 Laws restricting abortion could be challenged as violations of gender equality,

00:20:36.380 arguing that they disproportionately burden women in ways that men don't experience.

00:20:40.860 The ERA could also strengthen protections against gender-based violence.

00:20:44.300 Despite the progress made by laws like the Violence Against Women Act,

00:20:47.600 survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence often face an uphill battle in seeking justice.

00:20:52.620 The ERA would provide a constitutional basis for challenging laws or policies

00:20:56.620 that fail to adequately address violence against women.

00:20:59.460 It would send a clear message that gender-based violence is not just a social issue.

00:21:03.060 It is a violation of constitutional rights.

00:21:05.760 So where does public opinion stand on the ERA today?

00:21:08.680 Well, in one 2023 study, they found that 7 in 10 voters supported the ERA being placed in the Constitution,

00:21:15.020 with a strong majority, 57%, strongly supporting the ERA, compared to just 12% who oppose it.

00:21:22.020 This includes people across political and demographic lines.

00:21:26.020 But despite this broad support, the ERA remains a polarizing issue in some circles.

00:21:30.800 Critics argue that it's redundant or unnecessary.

00:21:33.360 Others claim it could have unintended consequences.

00:21:36.120 For example, some opponents have argued that the ERA could be used to challenge restrictions

00:21:40.100 on single-sex spaces like bathrooms or sports teams.

00:21:43.480 Those concerns often echo the same fear-mongering tactics that Phyllis Schlafly used in the 70s.

00:21:48.760 But the reality is that the ERA is about fairness.

00:21:51.800 It's about ensuring that everyone, regardless of gender, is treated equally under the law.

00:21:56.420 Ultimately, the ERA's fight is about more than just legal protections.

00:21:59.820 It's about values.

00:22:00.900 What kind of country do we want to be?

00:22:03.020 Do we want to enshrine equality as a fundamental principle?

00:22:05.960 Or do we want to continue relying on a patchwork of laws that can be dismantled with a stroke of a pen?

00:22:11.480 I would like to feel hopeful about that.

00:22:13.060 I would like to think that the ERA is a reminder that progress is never linear and that we are all still fighting.

00:22:18.220 But I had too much hope on November 5th, and none at all left on November 6th.

00:22:23.880 So what's the takeaway from all of this?

00:22:25.880 The Equal Rights Amendment is more than just a piece of legislation. 0.74

00:22:28.680 It's a symbol in an ongoing fight for gender equality.

00:22:31.720 Its history is a rollercoaster of hope, progress, backlash, and resilience.

00:22:36.140 Its future? Well, that's up to us.

00:22:39.300 One of the most remarkable things about the ERA has been its endurance.

00:22:42.880 Think about it. This amendment was first introduced in 1923.

00:22:47.240 That means generations of feminists have fought for it, 0.72

00:22:50.100 from the suffragists of the early 20th century to the activists of today.

00:22:54.180 It connects the feminist movement across generations.

00:22:57.540 Alice Paul, who drafted the ERA, once said, 0.99

00:23:00.040 When you put your hand to the plow, you can't put it down until you get to the end of the row.

00:23:04.900 And let me tell you, this row is long. I'm tired.

00:23:08.040 I hope that the next generation wouldn't have to take over the row for me, but they may have to.

00:23:13.600 So here we are, in a post-2024 election world where Trump's victory has emboldened the GOP

00:23:18.900 to double down on anti-woman policies and rhetoric. The ERA's future looks even murkier.

00:23:23.880 But the fight isn't over. It's never over. Here's what needs to happen.

00:23:28.920 Congressional action. Yeah, good luck with that. Congress would need to pass a resolution

00:23:33.440 removing the ratification deadline, allowing the ERA to be certified as the 28th Amendment.

00:23:38.080 But with the GOP controlling Congress and their open hostility towards women's rights,

00:23:43.000 the chances of this happening under the current administration are slim to none.

00:23:47.540 Public pressure. Lawmakers do listen. Sometimes. If you shout loud enough.

00:23:52.840 If enough of us demand the ERA, even the staunchest misogynists might think twice about ignoring us.

00:23:58.560 Yeah, sure. Remember, politicians care about staying in power. 0.98

00:24:02.060 If it becomes politically dangerous for them to oppose gender equality, we can force their hand.

00:24:06.180 but it's going to take a lot more action than we had in the 2024 election season to get that done.

00:24:12.520 And legal challenges. The courts could be ultimately where the ERA's fate is decided.

00:24:17.940 Advocates have continued to push lawsuits arguing that the deadline should be invalid and that the

00:24:22.260 ERA has already met the constitutional requirements to be ratified. But with Trump's judicial

00:24:27.360 appointees littering the courts, this route is anything but straightforward. But let's get real.

00:24:32.040 The ERA doesn't just need legal strategies.

00:24:35.180 It needs a cultural movement.

00:24:36.660 It needs people to care.

00:24:38.140 That's where we come in.

00:24:39.500 Right now, you're listening to this podcast,

00:24:41.560 and maybe you're wondering,

00:24:42.600 is the ERA purely symbolic?

00:24:44.720 Would it even change anything?

00:24:46.600 And that's a valid question,

00:24:47.940 especially when we've seen the 14th Amendment bent, twisted, and warped

00:24:51.520 to justify some of the most regressive policies of our time.

00:24:54.800 But here's the thing.

00:24:55.920 Symbols do matter.

00:24:57.340 Constitutional amendments matter.

00:24:59.000 They are more than just words.

00:25:00.460 they are declarations of our values as a society. Right now, the U.S. Constitution does not

00:25:05.840 explicitly guarantee gender equality. Let that sink in. The document that defines our democracy,

00:25:11.220 the blueprint for justice, does not include half the population in its basic promise of equality. 0.51

00:25:17.160 Should we be shocked, given that it was written by a room full of white men who didn't even believe

00:25:21.080 women should be able to vote? No. But should we accept it in 2024? Absolutely not. Frankly,

00:25:27.880 I think it's time to scandalize Thomas Jefferson's dusty old bones by demanding a real,

00:25:32.520 explicit promise of equality for women in the Constitution. If nothing else, let's make the

00:25:37.280 Founding Fathers roll in their graves by making the future more equitable than they could have

00:25:41.160 ever imagined. If you're fired up about the ERA, and I hope you are, there are ways to get involved.

00:25:47.000 Call your representatives and senators. Tell them you support the ERA and that you want them to take

00:25:51.360 action. Donate to organizations working on gender equality. Share this episode with your friends,

00:25:56.340 your family and your co-workers, basically anyone that will listen. And if someone tries to tell

00:26:01.000 you that the ERA is outdated or unnecessary, hit them with the facts. Equality doesn't have a

00:26:06.500 deadline, progress doesn't expire, and the fight for justice is never over. And that's it for

00:26:12.200 today's episode of Bitchy History. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, or better 0.56

00:26:16.700 yet, share it with someone who thinks feminism is a dirty word. I like starting fights. Until next 1.00

00:26:22.280 time, stay informed, stay fired up, and remember when a mediocre white man calls you a bitch, 1.00

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Bitchy History - December 11, 2024

Why Gender Equality is Still a Debate： The ERA Story

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