`It's HUMAN RIGHTS. Got that?!'

Since the psycho F-man first asked, "what does a woman
want?", we have been apologizing for our very exist-
ence. Some of us try to answer the question. We say
that it really isn't a penis that we envy, it's simply
that we are human beings and we want to be recognized
as such. Secretary of State Allbright said it suc-
cinctly: "Women's rights are human rights."

A culture that values one gender over the other sets up
a process of conditioning that is difficult to over-
come. For this reason, many women choose not to buck
the system. Some do this by relying on Doctor pre-
scribed drugs, such as Prozax or Valium, to mask their
feelings. Whether the hegemony likes it or not, women
have egos and expectations just like men do. And they
are fragile just like men's. More and more women every
day are fed up with the culture's edict that they live
their lives in the shadow of father, brother or husband
-- they want to live their own lives.

Now we are in the process of passing this change on to
the next generation and the hurdles we encounter in
this process are very high and deeply entrenched.
Formerly, we accepted the decree that when we married,
we two (wife & husband) become one, and there was no
doubt which one "we" became under law and under custom.
Just as slaves take their master's name, so do most
women in marriage. All this is not lost on even a very
young child.

Also, children still quickly learn that the `important
and strong' gender is male while the `subservient and
weak' gender is female. Children, regardless of gen-
der, react to this cultural environment that is imposed
on them. So we must constantly expose children of both
genders to a different standard of behavior and expec-
tation. Fortunately, these examples are becoming more
prevalent as more and more women are getting noticed
for something besides their bodies. We are delighted
to see signs on business with a legend similar to this,
"Jones & Daughters".

We were channel surfing the other day and our attention
was caught by two talking heads, one of each gender.
The discussion concerned national politics. It was a
perfect microcosm of a `traditional type' of intergen-
der conversation. `He' spoke authoritatively on the
topic and had to be stopped by the moderator who in-
sisted that `she' be given equal time. `She' replied
to `his' argument point by point. `He' continued his
dialogue on the subject, ignoring every point `she' had
brought up, and again had to be stopped by the moderator.
This went on for a while and then the moderator introduced
the subject of harassment, saying, to the woman, "If
women were the dominant gender, do you think they would
harass men as men now do women?"

She answered, "I think, if our culture supported our
dominance to the same extent that it presently does the
male gender, we, too, would harass. However, I do not
believe it would be sexual. Instead, we would force
men to sit down and REALLY LISTEN TO US!"

The moderator just lost it! -- couldn't stop laughing.
The man's chin dropped to the floor -- he had finally
listened to, and heard, a woman.

BUT MANY HEARD US IN NOVEMBER, 1996! Self-defining
women used their *VOTES* to tell the political/religious
patriarchy loud and clear, "We are human beings and we
shall be heard! `Women's Rights are Human Rights.'
We Gendergappers have just begun to fight!"
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