And the walls of that cage were built with silence, shame, and sanctioned suffering. There’s a dangerous myth floating around like perfum
And the walls of that cage were built with silence, shame, and sanctioned suffering.
There’s a dangerous myth floating around like perfume on poisoned air:
That feminism was about women “abandoning” love, children, and homes.
That we marched away from good men, cozy kitchens, and cradle songs just to chase careers and coldness.
But here’s what they conveniently forget to mention:
🩸 What Women Actually Gave Up:
1. Forced Lobotomies & Institutionalization
Thousands of women were lobotomized from the 1930s to the 1950s—often for reasons like being “too emotional,” “promiscuous,” or “difficult.”
At one point, two-thirds of all lobotomies in the U.S. were performed on women—many without informed consent.
2. State-Sanctioned Marital Rape
Marital rape was legal in all 50 states until 1993.
A husband could legally violate his wife without consequence, and the law would protect him, not her.
3. Domestic Violence with No Legal Protection
Before the 1970s, there were virtually no domestic violence shelters in the U.S.
Police often refused to intervene in “domestic disputes.”
A 1976 study found that 73% of police officers believed domestic violence should be handled privately—by the victim, not the law.
4. No Right to Credit or Property
Until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, women in the U.S. were often denied credit cards, loans, or mortgages without a man’s signature—even if they had income.
In many states, married women couldn’t own property in their own name until the 1960s and 1970s.
5. Limited Access to Education and Work
In 1960, only 6% of American doctors and 3% of lawyers were women.
Job ads were divided into “Help Wanted—Male” and “Help Wanted—Female.” The women’s jobs? Almost exclusively low-wage, low-respect.
6. Forced Sterilization & Reproductive Control
Black, Indigenous, Latina, and poor white women were often forcibly sterilized under eugenic programs.
In North Carolina alone, over 7,600 people were sterilized by the state between 1929 and 1974—the vast majority of them women.
7. Rape Victims Were Blamed—And Silenced
Rape was often seen as the woman’s fault. Courts asked women what they were wearing, why they were out, and whether they “asked for it.”
In the 1970s, feminists fought to create rape crisis centers and change legal definitions of rape to protect Survivors.
8. No Legal Recourse for Workplace Harassment
Sexual harassment wasn’t even recognized as a legal term until 1975.
Women were routinely groped, harassed, and threatened at work—and had no protection, no HR, no lawsuits, and no one who would listen.
🔥 So no—women didn’t walk away from a paradise. We ran from a prison.
We ran from being beaten without justice.
We ran from having our minds mutilated and our wombs controlled.
We ran from a world that praised a woman’s silence and punished her scream.
We ran from the myth that marriage and motherhood were always loving, safe, or fulfilling.
We didn’t abandon the home.
We refused to die in it.
💔 And the Myth Hurts Even Today
That false story still gaslights women into silence:
“You should be grateful.”
“Feminism ruined families.”
“No one had it that bad.”
But we did have it that bad—and some still do.
Because still today:
1 in 4 women in the U.S. experiences severe intimate partner violence
1 in 5 women is a Survivor of rape
Black women are 2.5 times more likely to be murdered by men than white women
Indigenous women face the highest rates of violence and homicide in the U.S.
🛡️ Feminism Didn’t Take Love Away.
It gave us the right to ask: Is this love, or is this survival in disguise?
And that question?
That freedom?
That fire?
That’s what they’re really afraid of.
