Feminism In America

Sarah Margaret Fuller, America’s first true feminist, was born in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts on May 23, 1810 to Timothy Fuller and Margaret Crane Fuller. Her father was a lawyer and congressman while her mother had a short teaching career. Margaret Fuller was born in a time period were women were raised to be well-cultured and obedient. On the other hand, Fuller was the opposite she was known to be assertive and a freethinking. She was the first women to be allowed into the all men library of Harvard University and later on to graduate from the university. Fuller is known today mainly as a transcendentalist, she surrounded herself with philosophers like Emerson and Henry David Thoreau because they shared similar believes and ideas of a new way of thinking (Allen 1981) .

Beauty pageants have been around for a long time, making people believe that nothing could go wrong in such events. Nevertheless, when I consider women who glide across the stage, I recall skinny women, in specific, who appear to have unrealistic features such as: perfect teeth, skin, and bodies, putting pressure as only women who appear that way are in magazines, television, and movies. Subsequently, this begins when young women participate in beauty pageants. [ Dante Ultius] Society today thinks that entering young children in beauty pageants can help self esteem. Society believes it will make them feel beautiful, perfect, socially involved, discipline, self confidence, and so on. Well it turns out thatś the exact opposite of what they think. Putting children in beauty pageants at a young age can cause health issues like depression, low self of esteem, anxiety, eating disorder, and also the absense of a normal childhood. Research shows that over the past 10 years, there has been a 270% increase in the number of girls being hospitalized for eating disorders, some of these girls are as young as 7 years old [Kelly Kammer]. Competitions can display adult body dissatisfaction in their later years, and that it is also possible for them to suffer from various eating disorders [Psychologist Martina Cartwright].

Beauty comes in a variety of different shapes and sizes. The perception of beauty are endless. Whether it is a tall blonde with blue eyes or the waist size. Around the world beauty is idolized differently; just like one’s mind. Pageants have force a view on beauty that can cause women emotional detriment to women and portrays beauty to be more artificial that natural.

The world is a beautiful thing but society has corrupted it to the point only perfection can be appealing. Pageants display what society finds attractive. Contests held like this are only toxic for young minds because they only influence their views of beauty. Media has evolved this into the competitive game that’s seen today. Parents should stop participating their children in beauty pageants because they cause psychological problems, unrealistic standards, and social prejudice.

The controversy on whether or not to ban beauty pageants has been the topic of discussion since the 1920s. Even though the media portrays beauty pageants as being helpful to young women, they neglect to reveal the negative consequences that come with the glamorous lifestyle. They glorify superficial aspects of humanity, destroys the morale of the girls involved and the girls indirectly involved, and can cause harm mentally and physically to girls of all ages.

“We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal,” right? (Declaration of Independence, 1776) What about women? Are men and women created equally?

Throughout history, women have been viewed as property and inferiors, among other prejudicial statuses. Today, however, women are mostly equal with men. We are allowed to participate in professional sports, we can work beside men in most any job, and we can hold governmental office. Feminists and women’s rights activists are nitpicking the details, possibly for attention, or they are making things up to be offended by, thus creating drama. Drama is the last thing America needs with all the other issues being created in the last few years, and more and more groups of people are recklessly making it worse.

Thesis: Beauty pageants cause psychological problems in young girls. Beauty pageants are all a contest over physical attractiveness.  Contestants try to sway the judges by having the brightest smile, cutest clothes, and prettiest hair.  Pageants make them think that beauty is being anyone but yourself.

The author provides a very informative and comprehensive analysis of The Feminist Movement in the United States. The author of this source splits his detailed research and opinions into six chapters ranging in important topics. Some of the topics are the origins of The Feminist Movement, ideologies of the movement, and oppositions to the movement. While this source is not current, the source was written by a qualified author. The author, Steven Buechler, is an associate professor of sociology at Mankato State University who studies historical social movements. Buechler has also published several sociological analyses of historical social movements. This source provides useful information as it discusses in great detail the social impacts of

Approximately 20% of the US population still identify as feminist and argue that women still face inequality in western society. I will discuss and dismantle their main talking points, which are the wage gap, portrayal of women in the

What is feminism? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines feminism as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. If you were to ask the average American they would probably say something about it’s a belief that women should be equal to men. Does everyone believe in such a noble goal? I should expect near 100% of people to identify with the movement, save a small minority of dissenters (return of kings?). In reality, only 60% of women and 33% of men in the United States identify as a feminist according to a study by the Washington Post (Cai and Clement). Why? It is something the class has discussed and many have certainly struggled with. I have noticed many of my friends disassociate themselves from feminism because

The word feminist is believed to be characterized as an individual who demonstrates huge support and advocates that women should be just as equal as men, both being given the same rights and opportunities. A feminist might make the comment, “As a woman, I should be given the same opportunities to be as successful as a man.” Although there is still ground to make up in America, equality between men and women is becoming something that is generally expected (Samovar, Porter, McDaniel, & Roy, 2012). American culture in many instances promote gender equality in relation to home and in the workplace for instance, women make on average 80% of what men do, yet other countries place great emphasis on inequality (Samovar, Porter, McDaniel, & Roy,

Over the past century women have made huge accomplishments in the fight for equal rights. Over the past one hundred years woman have won the right to vote, the right to work and they have shattered the stereo-type that women must be ‘baby producing house keepers’. However, even with the success of the feminist movement there are still numerous issues that exist in all areas of life. Women occupy 50% of the work force but earn up to 20% less than males, 53% of the world's population is female however females only hold 1% of the world’s wealth. While feminism has come a long way in the previous years many believe that there is a long way to go before we can accurately say men and women have equal rights.

In the world of beauty pageants many people find themselves entrapped in the expensiveness of the gown, the extravagance of the hairstyle, and how attractive the woman sporting all of this truly is. However, when entered into this arena at a young age, one where you are not fully developed and deep in adolescence, this presents a problem not all are aware of. Many people don’t understand the emotional stress that almost everyone that participates in pageants goes through. Women face various issues after everything has been said and done. A number of pageant contestants start at a relatively young age, some as young as infants, and grow up in this seemingly glamorous world of pageantry, from which they learn to present themselves in a specific way, giving some a false sense of character. As a whole, beauty pageants tend to have more of a degrading and potentially harmful effect on women and children.

Even without beauty pageants, the amount of pressure girls feel to conform to society’s standards of beauty is immeasurable. When girls participate in pageants, the pressure is multiplied as they trot around on stage being judged on only their outward appearance. “The message these little girls take away is that their natural beauty isn’t enough- that their