Mer-yl! Mer-yl! Mer-yl! (And other things I chant every morning.)
Turns out the ultimate Hollywood matriarch/leader/True Queen isn’t just vocal about gender equality in interviews and/or in film roles, the Oscar-winning actress has been actively campaigning the U.S. Congress, urging them to add the Equal Rights Amendment to the American constitution.
“A while new generation of women and girls are talking about equality — equal pay, equal protection from sexual assault, equal rights,” she wrote, according to The Cut. “I am writing to ask you to stand up for gender equality — for your mother, your daughter, your sister, your wife, or yourself — by actively supporting the Equal Rights Amendment.”
For a little background info, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress in 1972 and has been ratified in 35 of the 52 states — meaning only three more states need to pass it to make it part of the American constitution. And, to back up her point, Streep sent a copy of Equal Means Equal (a book by Jessica Neuwirth, president of the Equal Rights Amendment Coalition) along with each letter she wrote.
Hard to believe the ERA isn’t already included in the U.S. constitution, right? Sadly, not really: between overt displays of misogyny in all industries, ageism, the wage gap, and a slew of other sexist issues we’re still dealing with, it’s hard to believe a full 38 states actively support equality in such a concrete, written way.
Save us, Streep.
