Progress Made, But Threats Remain: Staying Abreast With Our Current Political Climate While Celebrating and Reflecting On The Accomplishments
With International Women’s Day last week and Women’s History Month continuing throughout the month in the U.S., the recent election of Donald Trump serves as a stark reminder that, despite the great progress we’ve made, the fight for equality persists.
Since the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 and the Women’s Rights Convention in 1851, women—white, Black, and brown—have pushed against a world that often refused to see us as equals. We’ve broken barriers in education, leadership, science, and beyond. But history has shown us that progress is not linear. While we celebrate the legacies of the women before us, we must stay cognizant of our freedoms being rolled back, undermined, and questioned.
Reproductive Rights Under Attack
Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of reproductive freedom. During Trump’s first term, he appointed several Supreme Court justices who ultimately voted to overturn the nationwide right to abortion in 2022, dramatically reshaping the landscape of women’s healthcare in America. Today, nineteen states—including Texas—have enacted abortion bans or severe restrictions, many of which take effect before most people even realize they’re pregnant.
Most recently, Trump’s current administration indicated its intent to allow Idaho to enforce its highly restrictive abortion ban, even in emergency medical situations. This move, one of the first significant actions on abortion by the new administration, serves as a stark reminder of the government’s stance on abortion, emphasizing conservative values.
We Came for Equality, Not a Time Machine: Tradwives Trend
In parallel with political shifts, social media has become a breeding ground for regressive gender roles. The rise of the “tradwife” trend—women glamorizing 1950s-style homemaking—is being marketed as empowerment. But it’s simply repackaged patriarchy.
The 1950s housewife ideal was a fantasy that ignored the realities most women faced. The tradwife trend undermines feminism, which is built on choice, equity, and freedom from rigid gender roles. Marketed as “empowerment,” it romanticizes a version of womanhood that feminists have fought to free us from. Glamorizing submission as self-expression reinforces the outdated idea that a woman’s value lies in domesticity. Feminism isn’t about judging women who stay home—it’s about ensuring that choice is truly free, not shaped by nostalgia, social media algorithms, or economic dependence disguised as escapism.
Vigilance in Times of Regression: Women’s History Month Is a Reminder to Rise
As we reflect on the accomplishments women from the past and present, the rollback of reproductive rights and the glamorization of regressive gender roles remind us that, there are rising threats in both politics and culture against women.
In a time of political and social pushback, it’s vital to see through the smoky mirrors of reality, protect what’s been won, and continue to shape a future grounded in equality, truth, and freedom.
Until then– Goodnight and good luck.
