If Men Could Menstruate Gloria Steinem Analysis

In the world today, women have a say in what they want to do and things that they desire to do. Back in the day, before the 1800’s, women had to be submissive to their male counterparts and do according to what was required of them. In the end, this led to the demeaning of the woman and the concept that women were inferior to men. Even though this concept and perception changed, there have been some countries and regions of the world that have not yet recognized the equality that women deserve. Such areas do not allow women to vote, attend school, have a say in the community, and the women are at the mercy of their husbands, fathers or male superiors (Hartmann, Susan M).

Throughout time women and their rights have varied among where they are living and the people that surround them. Some of the major changes with women’s rights is giving them the right to vote, reproductive rights, and the right to work for equal pay. Another thing that varies throughout time is women’s roles. For example 100 years ago the only jobs that women could have was to either be a housewife, nurse, or a teacher. Until about 1910, women didn’t really fight for their rights and what they could do. In 1910, women started to voice their opinions in society and fought for the right to vote. Though things have changed greatly today, there are still women in the world that believe in the “traditional way” and prefer to still wait on

Women have long been fighting for their right to be seen as equal to men. Even to this day, women continue to fight for their rights, things such as the right to non-gender discriminatory wages. While there may be some arguments over the state of gender equality in the modern world, it is undeniable that there have been great strides made toward recognizing the female 's worth in the workforce and as a human being. Despite these strides, however, things are still not yet ideal for women and many of the issues females face today are the very same issues that have been plaguing them for decades. While it is unfortunate the oppression of women has been so long-lived, the length of that exposure has thankfully enabled many talented writers to both lament over the fact and emphasize the need for gender equality.

Feminism adheres to all humans, regardless of race, sex, religion or any other defining mark and in order for true equality to be reality, human’s as a whole must demand for it. Gloria Steinem’s article “Our Revolution Has Just Begun,” addresses the underlying truths of feminism and its never-ending movement towards total equality. My analysis will focus on Steinem’s arguments regarding the future, which lie ahead for women as well as feminism itself, these arguments include: the economic benefits of equal gender pay, women’s right to reproductive freedom, and violence towards women.

The picture of Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman show elements of women equality, solidarity and unity. The picture shows two women with a serious look and making eye contact with the camera, this shows alludes to a fight of women rights. In the picture both women are holding a fist in the air, this signifies strength and solidarity. The third essential element highlighted is the filter of the picture, the filter being black and white shows unity as human beings and every race. The picture represents three main topics which are women rights, strength and unity

Women’s rights activists in the late 19th century objected an amendment proposing a “man’s government” in America. The amendment faced strong opposition because suffragists believed there was already excessive executive power given to men. So, these women demanded equal representation and access to the same civil liberties as men had by exposing the gender inequality they met through a series of persuasive tactics demonstrated in the article: “Manhood Suffrage.”

The first rumblings of feminism began in the latter part of the eighteenth century with what was later to be called the “women’s movement.” By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the political focus of the women’s movement would center on suffrage—the political right or act of voting, and those who advocated such rights for women suffragists or suffragettes. (Klein 29) During this beginning era of feminism, it is clear that equality means one and only one thing: sameness. That is, being viewed as essentially the same as men; having the same rights, opportunities and privileges as

Looking back with a historical lens, it’s evident that the fight for women’s rights has progressed in a step wise process. The nineteenth amendment opened a new door of opportunities for women to take advantage of. In modern times, the continued push for equal rights is evident through the fight for reproductive rights and equal pay. Even with the right to vote, women are still being under represented and out of control when it comes to their reproductive rights and in the workplace. Opposing beliefs regarding feminism have prevented the progression of more gender equality in the United States. What originally started as a plea for a political voice helped to shape the history of the nation. Women’s suffrage paved the way for countless groups and further feminist

In 1963 there was the second wave of the women’s movement when Betty Friedan published her book The Feminine Mystique, which sole purpose was to point out the, “problem that has no name” (understanding feminism by peta Bowden). The context of the book described that women were being forced to live under their true

    The feminism movement throughout the 1900’s showed much progression to equality in western society. It was this pivotal century that set the ball rolling for important women’s rights, including women’s suffrage in 1920, John F. Kennedy passing the Equal Pay Act in 1963, and even sparked revolutionary women such as Amelia Earhart, one of the first female pilots. But like all new changes there was room for improvement. This is where great speakers such as journalist Gloria Steinem stepped in. On May 6, 1970, Steinem spoke before Congress on the equal rights amendment as a supporter for female equality. She goes on to describe that still into the 1970’s that women were being socially discriminated

Once upon a time in a world dominated by men, women had been forced to comply with society 's blinding notion that they were pieces of property meant to play the domesticated role of a dutiful housewife. This was true up until the late 1840s when women began to realize their worth was so much more than a floor-moping, dinner-making, stain-bleaching slave to six children and an ungrateful husband. That may sound rash and some situations may have been different, but before the civil war these women did not have the opportunities to be properly educated like men. Courageously strong women, over time, from the early 1800s up until the 1920s and counting, such as Elizabeth Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem have all become recognized for their dedication and persistence in bringing about changes in defending the rights of women and suppressing the bias against gender equality thus paving the road of feminism. However, even in today’s world anti-feministic backlashes are still occurring in the sense of politics, workplace, and society.

Gloria Steinem has been at the forefront of the feminist movement, speaking out against the gender inequalities in our society since the late 1960’s. While our feminist leaders have accomplished many wins on the battlefield for equality, there are still sectors of our society in which women have not achieved parity. In “Our Revolution Has Just Begun” an article by Gloria Steinem, Steinem (2017) addresses the unfinished goals of the feminist movement and urges us to do whatever we can to change consciousness.

Drawing heavily on de Beauvoir (1953) she highlights the constraints placed upon women by their reproductive biology; that menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth are not only detrimental to her physical strength and health but also confine her to the ‘mere reproduction of life’. This stands in contrast to man, who is free to assert his

That year Steinem was a part of the National Democratic Party Convention --- she was fighting for an abortion plank in the party platform and challenging the seating segregations that included mostly white males. This drew attention to the issue of underrepresentation of women in politics and the centrality of political issues for women’s lives( “Gloria Steinem Facts” 9). Further after that, Steinem continued to stress the problems women faced every day. During the same year, Gloria published her first circulation feminist magazine and within five years it had a circulation of 500,000(Gloria Steinem Facts” 9). Being the editor of the magazine, Steinem became an influential spokeswoman for women’s right issues. In 1983 Gloria published her first book which talked about her past and also the lives of other remarkable 20th century women(“Gloria Steinem Facts” 10). Gloria Steinem constantly aspired to end women’s stumbling block in the paid labor force, to cease sexual exploitation, and equality of the

The goal of this paper is to describe and analyze gender inequality, focusing on the history of feminist ideas. I will start with a basic overview of the entire feminist movement, and will then analyze feminism more specifically. In this analysis I will focus on the different types of feminism. Most notably of these types will be the main groups that consist of socialist feminists, liberal feminists, and radical feminists. I will describe the goals and ideals of these groups along with describing how a functionalist and conflict theorist looks at gender.