In True Blood, HBO's racy vampire series, the vampires are struggling to pass the Vampire Rights Amendment, guaranteeing equal rights to vampires. In reality, the United States never successfully passed the Equal Rights Amendment, which guarantees equal rights regardless of sex.
Written in 1923 by Alice Paul, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was not adopted by Congress until 1972. The text of the amendment reads:
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
The amendment was not ratified by enough states before its 1982 deadline, and thus was defeated. Although it is re-introduced every year, it has yet to be passed.
Although there remains debate on both sides of the issue (if it passed, would women have to register for the draft? what are the implications for labor protection for women? what are the implications for abortion rights for women? would it erode traditional male/female gender roles?), it appalls me that the country still refuses to admit equality for half its populace.
I wonder how much Alan Ball (creator of True Blood) is familiar with the Equal Rights Amendment. He is known for infusing his shows with politically-charged commentaries on the current state of society (and society's ignorance).
So take this opportunity provided by sexy vampires to learn about the Equal Rights Amendment (http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Rights_Amendment).
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Hi - When I was coaching girls' basketball in the 70s, Title IX was passed. As a result all the girls' teams gained "equality." I remember they got new uniforms, etc. Was this legislation related to the ERA? Just curious...
ReplyDeleteThe legislation surrounding Title IX and the ERA are not related; however, they both came from the same political ideology. Title IX is specifically for government-funded education programs, which collegiate and secondary school athletics falls under. The ERA is much more general -- equal rights should be guaranteed regardless of sex across the board (and not just for educational programs receiving financial support from the government). Both were a result of the so-called "Second-Wave Feminism" of the 1970s. After securing the right to vote (first-wave feminism), there was a lag in the women's rights movement. The "second wave" of the women's rights movement centered around equality in the workforce as women became liberated from being housewives and the traditional nuclear family of the 1950s. Both Title IX and the ERA were passed by Congress in 1972. Since the ERA is an amendment, it had to further pass the approval of three-quarters of the states, in which it fell short.
ReplyDeleteSo the answer to your question is no, the legislation is not related but they were envisaged from the same political ideology (second-wave feminism).