In a matter of a few weeks, we’ll have a new president or a president entering his second term. I’ll be the first to admit that my knowledge of the Mormon religion is limited, but I’ll also be the first to admit that my religious tolerance is high. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against people of the Mormon religion. But as a woman, I do worry that having a Mormon in office will affect my rights and change my life for the worse.
Women in Mormonism are supposed to be the nurturers. They stay home, birth the children, care for the children, and keep the house nice and orderly. And while on the outside that does sound like a potentially good idea, personally, I like being able to have a career if I so chose to. I don’t want to have that right taken from me. There is already inequality in the work force between men and women, and I worry that with someone who believes women should play a subservient role in office will make the inequality even worse. Women already make thirty percent less than men, and if Romney makes it into the White House I fear that that percentage will either rise, or women just won’t be allowed to have a career outside the house.
Though polygamy has fallen out of widespread practice, Romney’s family does have a history with the institution: Romney’s great-great grandfather, according to an ABC News article written by Amy Bingham titled “Mitt Romney’s Mexican Roots,” fled the United States to escape prosecution for polygamy, and I’m not comfortable will sharing my boyfriend/fiancée/husband with X-amount of other women. But Romney could very well make that legal, and erase the progress we’ve made on the LGBTQ marriage front. The blog Skeptic Mormon defines polygamy as “a destructive practice that demeans and objectifies women.” It also shows the double-standard between men and women rights. Men can marry and screw however many women they want in the Mormon religion, but as soon as a women wants to be with someone else, they can’t. If polygamy is legalized across the country, things surrounding feminism and gender equality will become even more hairy. Just the idea of having to share my boyfriend with a few other women makes my stomach turn. I do hope that if Romney gets elected that he is not able to legalize this concept.
Male dominance is a huge issue in Mormonism that could affect me personally if Romney gets elected. Along the issue of female losing the right to work outside the home, women could also lose other rights. In the Mormon religion women are not allowed to hold Priesthood or hold prominent leadership roles. So how would that affect those women who earned their roles in office? Mayors, senators, and other roles of the like. It’s only a matter of time until a woman is elected President or Vice President. How could Romney’s election affect those women who want to run in future political elections? Is it really fair for the country to be run entirely by men? When issues like birth control and abortion come up, why should men be the ones deciding what women can and can’t do with their bodies?
My concerns surrounding this next election could be unnecessary. Will Romney even be able to change the laws the country has intact? I’m almost certain he’ll try even if he isn’t successful. Just the idea that he has the potential to ruin the life I plan on having scares me. The idea that I could potentially get kicked out of school because of my gender is disgusting. Hopefully the women of this school who are of voting age will take his religion into consideration. This country was built on Christian foundations and (even though I don’t have anything against any other religions; in fact, I’m Agnostic) I believe we need to keep those principles intact.