A Basket of Goodies
Wisconsin U.S. Congressman Glenn Grothman recently claimed our country should go back to 1960. He says this was a time when men still felt they had a purpose in life. Men, he contends, lost this sense of purpose during the mid-1960’s into the 1970’s when women were given what he calls “a basket of goodies.”
It is true that in the mid 60’s, many opportunities began opening up for women, but Mr. Grothman overlooks the benefits countless men began to share and appreciate during and after this time.
When laws and labor force demands encouraged more women to get jobs, fewer men were forced to be their families’ sole breadwinners. This allowed many men to pursue interests beyond their jobs and also to spend more time with their children, strengthening family bonds.
In 1974, women for the first time were able to apply for credit cards in their own names. This enabled them to build credit ratings and gain financial independence which continues to relieve men of lifelong financial responsibilities for the women they love, including in some cases their mothers and even their daughters.
In 1972, President Nixon signed legislation that opened up the sports world for girls. Dads no longer had to wish for sons to actively engage in sports activities with their children. They became coaches for their daughters’ teams and today we see an increasing number of men cheering with family and friends at girls’ and women’s sporting events.
As women’s education and roles outside the home increased, both women and their doctors began to take their healthcare more seriously. Women began receiving better medical treatment and men benefitted from healthier female family members, friends and coworkers.
Family planning possibilities, including birth control, increased. and more husbands and wives shared in decision making about having children.
This shared decision making helped draw many men into the birthing process. Today we hear men describe the life changing feelings they have at the birth of their child, and we aren’t especially surprised when a high-profile athlete misses a game, sometimes a critical one, to be with his wife when their child is born.
I hope Congressman Grothman and his party colleagues who want to go backward to 1960 with him will think seriously about all that men would lose. I hope they will be forward looking and help build a country where the majority of both men and women will share in the basket of benefits a healthy democracy has to offer.