New book on US women's rights and the Constitution
We have some darn cool women in Texas. Gretchen Ritter, a professor in the government department at UT, is one of the coolest.
Prof. Ritter has written a book called The Constitution as Social Design: Gender and Civic Membership in the American Constitutional Order, in which she argues that US women's struggles to achieve equality are rooted in our Constitution - both inspired and constrained by our founding document. She's currently featured on UT's website, where there's a a nice article on the book:
While the culture of modern-day America may have moved beyond the days when suffragist Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting in a presidential election, Ritter maintains these struggles are not so far removed from those of Anthony??s. How the Constitution is interpreted has enormous power over what roles citizens inhabit in political and social communities.
??How do we understand women as part of our political community?? Ritter asks. ??What does equality mean? Does it mean treating you as an autonomous individual, or in the case of an issue such as family medical leave, does equality mean recognizing that you have responsibilities to care for dependents who impact your ability to pursue different kinds of economic opportunities??
Ritter hopes equality can mean both.
??The issue is not, how can we treat everyone exactly the same, no matter who they are, but rather, how can we increase opportunities for everyone to participate fully in public life, wherever they??re starting from?"
Isn't she cool, folks? I love how she draws such a clear distinction between equivalence and equality in that last sentence. The book is an academic tome, so not light reading; but Ritter's a fine writer, so for a nerd like me, this totally qualifies as summer reading. Come on, geek out with me!