Feminists

men. They may identify themselves with feminism, but do not define feminism for all feminists. In the end, everyone is an individual and deserves to be treated as one.

One time, back in 1963, I found myself at Esalen, sitting in one of their famous hot tubs with a number of other people, including Joan Baez. As an amateur folk singer, which was why I was at Esalen, I was completely in awe of her talent and successes. As a 19-year-old kid, I realized that no matter what I did, I could never be her equal as a musician. Sitting there in that hot tub, we chatted about Alan Lomax and his influence on folk music in the late 50s and early 60s. She was very gracious and kind to an awe-struck kid. She treated me as an equal, despite the very large gap in our abilities and accomplishments. She was only four years older than I was, but seemed much older to me.

I have known so many women whose intelligence, talents, and wisdom surpassed mine that I could never, ever treat women as a class that is in any way inferior to men.