Dear Editor,
In recent years, I have watched with growing concern as nostalgia for “simpler times” gains traction in our national conversation. But simplicity is not always synonymous with justice—especially for women.
Fifty years ago, a woman could be denied a credit card without her husband’s signature. She could lose her job for becoming pregnant. Her career choices were limited due to limited colleges allowing women in, norms of the times “the woman stayed home and took care of children, her autonomy was questioned, and her voice often silenced. This was not a golden age, it was a gilded cage.
Today at a rally, I was talking with a friend, and she reminded me of all that we, as women, have fought for over the years. We both question why people idealize the past. I could not get a credit card in my name; the Lab Manager did not hire me because he overheard me talking with a coworker about wanting a second baby. I received a lower wage than my male colleague because he was the “bread winner of the family, although I was also employed to help put my husband through college. Last, I had to have my husband sign a permit for me to have tubal ligation surgery after the birth of my third child. There are many more reasons for not going back to the past and these are just a few of mine.
So, when I hear calls to “return” to a time before women had equal financial, legal, or reproductive rights, I must ask: return for whom? Because history shows us that the privileges of the present come at the cost of women’s freedom and dignity.
This is not about memory, it is about which stories we choose to elevate, and whose suffering gets dismissed for the sake of nostalgia. Progress did not happen by accident; it happened because people demanded dignity, fairness, and voice.
Let us stop glorifying a time when women could not have independent bank accounts, when marital rape was not a legal concept, and when leadership roles were determined by gender. The real strength of a nation lies in its willingness to evolve—not to regress.
We are better when we all move forward together. Let us make sure the next 50 years reflect equality, not erasure.
Susan Stone
