Column
Feminist and Under Lockdown
Most American women identify as feminists — but what does it matter if we’re all stuck at home?
It’s an irony perfectly matched to the horror of 2020: The majority of American women now describe themselves as feminists, right as they’re being pushed out of the workforce and back into the kitchen.
A new Pew study shows that 61% of women in the United States identify as feminists, with about 20% of women saying the term describes them “very well” and more than 40% agreeing it describes them “somewhat” well. For women like me, who came of age in an era when feminism was a dirty word, this is incredible news. Finally, progress!
If only it didn’t come in the midst of what is looking to be one of the biggest setbacks for American women in decades. As we’re marching in the streets, supporting reproductive rights, and embracing feminism online and off, Covid-19 has ensured that women with children are being forced back into the domestic sphere.
One study shows that mothers have reduced their working hours up to five times more than men — this is on top of the fact that women were already doing a disproportionate amount of childcare and domestic work before the coronavirus hit. Claudia Goldin, an economics professor at Harvard…
