The meaning of International Women’s Day
March 11th, 2019A left-wing columnist calls for more respect and recognition for female nurses. A conservative historian accuses progressives of trying to erase gender differences.
In Népszava, Erzsébet Rozsos calls for more respect for nurses. The left-wing health ethics expert recalls that most care workers are female. They have extremely important jobs, they take care of all kinds of patients, but they are seriously underpaid and their contribution is rarely given credit, Rozsos points out. She finds it particularly problematic that even care duties are being overseen by doctors who have little expertise in nursing. Rozsos interprets this hierarchy as proof of ‘macho, male dominant thinking’ and ‘traditional male domination’. Rozsos finds all this unacceptable, and calls for recognition of the contribution of women nurses who, following ‘female mindset’ take care of patients. She adde that nurses often have no children, and thus, according to Rozsos, are not helped by the government’s welfare policies targeting mothers and families.
In Mozgástér blog, Zsuzzsa Máthé contends that the main message of Women’s Day is that traditional male and female roles should be maintained. The conservative historian accuses progressive ideology of trying to erase ‘natural and God-given’ gender binaries. Máthé claims that for Enlightened people, traditional gender roles should be nurtured. Thus, boys should be educated to respect and help women, while young girls should be socialized to help their brothers with the daily chores. All these, Máthé notes, are small but important gestures of love, and, at the same time, help us to defend basic values of femininity and masculinity.