Woman Power


In the early 70’s women rights became a hot topic. Western society went through a dramatic transformation. Women suddenly were able to get an office job just like men, and without notice, from one day to the other, family structure was forever changed. With two working parents, children were raised differently and divorce rate shot up to the sky. What today we consider normal, in the 70’s this was very unusual.

We see the start of the independent woman in movies like “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” When a divorced woman decides to move with her nine-year-old son and start all life all over again, the obstacles they face are endless. Ellen Burstyn plays the role of her lifetime as a struggling mom who wants to work as a singer in bars. The movie is excellent, acting impeccable and the story, simple yet effective, stays with you long after the movie is over.

We now see plenty of stories involving only women, working moms, single mothers, etc, and no other contemporary writer has done it better than Canadian writer Alice Munro. In her short stories, almost always from a women’s point of view, the difficulties and intricacies of women’s lives are described in a simple and interesting way.

Sexual freedom is perfectly portrayed in John Waters’ latest film, A Dirty Shame (2004). For the first time I see women talking plainly about sex in an unabashed, direct way. No dirty shame here, only provoking language and scenes. Women take the lead in this story and lead men through the different sexual fantasies and possibilities. Nothing is prohibited, everything is allowed! Will we ever see the start of the power men age? Not just yet.