Young girls and boys share their thoughts with activist Gloria Steinem and Linda Ellerbee in a lively discussion about being a woman today in the Nick News with Linda Ellerbee half-hour special, "Are We There Yet? Women's History, Past, Present, and Future," premiering Monday, April 1, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. The special examines whether the country is "there" yet when it comes to gender equality.
"In school we don't really talk about women's rights," says Hannah.
"In my history class...we kind of went from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War and then kind of skipped over women's suffrage..." says Zach. "We didn't talk about anything that had to do with women's rights."
The special discusses how many kids think all the battles for gender equality have already been fought and won. Yet, America is one of the only industrialized nations in the world that does not recognize gender equality in its Constitution.
Some kids say the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, which includes the rights of women, is unnecessary or that it will force women to be a part of the military draft. "In the Constitution, it says that all men are created equal," says Helena. "And that spans to cover both men and women."
"If they meant everybody, they should have written everybody, instead of just man," Crystal responds.
"Everything we're talking about in the women's rights movement preserves your choice," says Steinem. "It isn't about making a choice you don't want to make. It's about making choice possible."
"I got my first job in television because some men, women before me fought to make it possible for a woman to be in a field that had been mainly if not solely the provenance of me," says Ellerbee. "I stand on the shoulders of those women and men. Who will stand on your shoulders and will your shoulders be strong enough to help carry them where they want to go next?"
Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is now in its 22nd year and is the longest-running kids' news show in television history. It has
Built its reputation on the respectful and direct way it speaks to kids about the important issues of the day. Over the years, Nick News has received more than 21 Emmy nominations and won its ninth Emmy Award for Under the Influence: Kids of Alcoholics in the category of Outstanding Children's Nonfiction Program. Additional Emmy wins for outstanding children's programming include:
The Face of Courage: Kids Living with Cancer (2010); Coming Home: When Parents Return from War (2009); The Untouchable Kids of India (2008); Private Worlds: Kids and Autism (2007); Never Again: From the Holocaust to the Sudan (2005); Faces of Hope: The Kids of Afghanistan (2002) and What Are You Staring At? (1998). In addition, in 1995, the entire series won the Emmy. In 2009, Nick News was honored with the Edward R. Murrow Award for best Network News Documentary for Coming Home: When Parents Return from War -the first-ever kids' television program to receive this prestigious award. Nick News has also received three Peabody Awards, including a personal award given to Ellerbee for explaining the impeachment of President Clinton to kids, as well as a Columbia duPont Award and more than a dozen Parents' Choice Awards.
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 33rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has
Built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 18 consecutive years.
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