Dismantling the White Patriarchy

On January 20, Trump’s first day back in the Oval Office, he signed an Executive Order titled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.” Why did he target diversity, equity and inclusion right out of the starting gate?

He could have demanded that all of the walls in federal office buildings be painted MAGA red. He could have ruled that we could no longer eat Italian, Mexican, or Greek cuisine, but only standard fare such as hamburgers and fries which are considered to be “American“ food. He could have named “YMCA” by the Village People as the new national anthem, but instead in the ensuing days, has fired key military leaders whose only disqualification seems to be that they are female and/or Black.

I have my own theory about why Donald Trump and his minions are so outraged by diversity, equity and inclusion, because I can remember when the second wave of feminism started in the latter part of the last century. During the first wave of feminism, the suffragettes acquired the vote with the Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920. In the 1960s and 1970s, the second wave of feminists extended the right to vote into broader discussions about reproductive rights, workplace equality, domestic violence and sexuality through consciousness raising and activism.