I recently opened a new bank account with my spouse. In our current situation, it made the most sense for me to be designated as the primary account holder. Honestly, my girl boss angry feminist energy probably means I would have demanded to be the primary account holder over my male partner regardless of the circumstances. Imagine my surprise and consternation when our bank cards arrived and my spouse's name was on the primary card and I was relegated to the secondary. The phone that the bank thinks belongs to my spouse now gets a text every time I withdraw money from the ATM, providing a handy means for my partner to track and control my spending were he so inclined.
As I was indignantly reflecting on this situation, I was struck by the realization that we are one year shy of the 50th anniversary of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. That's right, it has been less than 50 years since women like me have been able to hold our own credit cards without a male authority figure giving us the a-okay.
At a time when the rights of women and anyone who is not a cisgender male are being rolled back and rolled over, it's important to remember how many of our equal rights and equal protections were so recently won. Centuries of organizing, fighting, and even dying have gotten us where we are today. Our position is still so new and still so fragile. And we're not even close to where we need to be to truly say we live in an equal and equitable society. We still need to fight. We'll need to fight to protect our hard-won victories and fight for the rights of those who continue to be left behind. We'll need energy, drive, and passion in this battle. So stay angry, girl. We'll need your indignation.
