Modern Feminism In The United States

While controversial, I strongly believe feminism is one of the multiple different problems of America today. Saying this will probably spark reactions such as “misogynist” and such, however, I believe in this because I really do believe in equality between the two sexes. Feminism is a movement that today is only creating advantages for women while claiming to be benefiting both sexes. In fact, a study conducted in the United States by The Fawcett Society and Kaiser Family Foundation (2016) showed fewer than 1 in 5 women describe themselves as a “feminist” even though over 85% of them believe in equality between the sexes, why? Because it is clear that feminism has become something different now. It has little to do with equality and moreso hating on men by making laws where women have the upperhand such as almost always getting the child in a divorce unless the man can prove the woman is not suited for the child, or inventing terms such as “manspreading” which is the act of a male spreading his legs in a public area to showcase “dominance”. These faults explain why women happen to be abandoning it by the millions. In the United Kingdom the numbers were even worse, just 7% of women describe themselves as a feminist despite just about 92% believing in equality between the sexes (The Fawcett Society, 2016). This shows people see a difference between the two words “feminism” and “equality”. It spreads false information such as the supposed “wage gap” and tries to constantly position women as the victims.

In the year 1848 America held the first gathering dedicated to women’s rights; after decades of fighting for women’s equality, the 1920’s national election was the first for women to cast their presidential vote. The feminist movement, as a unisex advocacy, has had some successes other than voting rights, such as discrimination related to equal pay, having credit cards in their own names, terminating pregnancy, purchasing contraception or “the pill”, attending prestigious schools, becoming an astronaut or supreme court justice, and many more that have now been fixed due to this movement. So the question remains: do we still need feminism? After all, there have been many successes and several women claim they “don’t need feminism anymore”; however,

To admit or to label oneself as a feminist is to accept a whirlwind of judgment from those around you. It is without a doubt that the word “Feminism” or “Feminist” turns heads, and not necessarily for the right reasons. Many have resorted to mocking, disagreeing, and/or hating Feminism without even having a good grasp of what it is. The stigmas that feminists face are that they are radical, extremist, liberal, lesbians who hate men, refuse to shave and enjoy burning bras (Lee).Conversely, feminists are principally advocates for social justice and equality as well as aim for the establishment of equally divided power between the sexes. It is obvious that many are unaware of and uneducated on the misogynistic injustices plaguing our world and the toxic environment we all live in- both women and men. Feminism is a positive concept that works to eliminate injustices between both sexes and to establish the value of women, thus should be treated as such a concept instead of being a forbidden idea.

Feminism has not changed today, but its focus has changed. Many women today have good education and employment opportunities just like men, as the early feminist fought for them. Now, after getting all these, men are now discriminating them and at times abusing them in order to undermine their hard work and potentiality. Men are doing all they can to undermine the success women have been able to acquired, however, today’s feminism is struggling to protect women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape as well as discrimination.

The discussion that has debates like no other is that of feminism, either you are for it or against it, but could there be more to the black and white that has been created? We live in a country that is said to have equal opportunities for all, often using this as an insignia to push our standards upon others. In order to understand and approach the topic of feminism, I have to understand what is feminism exactly and how is it perceived; just because we think we know what something is, does not mean that is how it is perceived socially.

When thinking about feminism in today’s society we tend to direct our minds and thoughts to a more radical and powerful train of thought. Feminism has been going on for centuries, with two main ideologies at the forefront; liberal and cultural feminism. Someone who identifies as a liberal feminist is someone who believes that women and men are a like and equal in most respects and deserve equal roles and opportunities (Wood & Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017, p. 58). And cultural feminism is someone who identifies as someone who believes that men and women are fundamentally differently; you have different rights, role and opportunities (Wood & Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017, p. 58). The women’s rights movement can be understood and broken down into three “waves”.

Throughout the last century the role of women in american society has changed dramatically from one generation to the next. The modern women in America is now viewed as an important contributor to our economy and labor market. They have took on these new roles with pride, while also still fulfilling many of their old household duties. In this essay I will focus on thoughts and ideas of Sara who I interviewed about her expectation for women going forward.

Feminism is a thriving force in today 's society; molding American culture since the 19th and early twentieth century 's by navigating politics with powerful voices from incredibly influential women such as Susan B Anthony, Mary Wollstonecraft and Betty Friedan. Feminism has created a rich history for itself and has been plagued with controversy since its conception but how much of that controversy is unwarranted; how many fallacies lie beneath the true rise of the organization and could it be that feminism is more harmful to gender relations then we actually realize? I believe the most important question we need to ask is; do we truly need feminism today; or for that matter has it ever been needed? If not, then why do we agree to let the opinions of one group dictate the way we live? I pose these questions because as a former feminist I find it hard to stand by and stomach the damage done to our society grounded solely on emotions; although I take solace in knowing these problems may be alleviated if we take immediate action. Before I continue my 'mansplanation ' of feminism and come off as an abhorrent sexist and biased misogynist I’d like to clarify that my views do not stem from a personal vendetta but from lots of research and years of deliberation.

Feminism in the 1960’s-1980’s is a very different concept than Feminism in the 21st century. Back in the 60’s, feminism meant to fight for equal rights. Now, modern feminism means women-dominance. While the dictionary definition of feminism is “a range of political movements, ideologies and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal, and social rights for women”, many modern feminists take this to the point of fighting for the “right” for women to dominate men. Many modern feminists support female superiority, rudeness, and demonizing men.

Even though the Constitution didn’t explicitly exclude women from voting rights, juries, or presidents, women were treated as second class citizens without sharing equal civil rights as men. Finally, after over seven decades’ activists’ dedication, women were granted the fundamental right to vote in 1920, and it is protected by the Supreme Court. The role of women in the United States has changed dramatically in the past century, and women are increasingly working as a full-timer in the paid job market rather than being dependent housewives. However, as of today, women still need to fight for equal civil rights as men because unfortunately, somehow unequal treatments still strongly remain. Underserved women are a group of female citizens who are somehow treated unjust in terms of payment, healthcare, and education opportunity.

I never knew much about feminism until a year ago it came up in a class and I sat down and did my research. It’s sad how much women are looked down upon simply because we are women. We deserve to be more equal to men, some women can do the same job as a man, maybe even better. I consider myself a feminist because as a woman I want to be valued and have the same opportunity as a man. I came across a picture that stated “I don’t need feminism because ours sons are not inherent rapist and out daughters are not perpetual victims” (Bodenner), all feminist don’t consider men as rapist; especially me.

As the topic of feminism has become an arising concern in society, lots of people have associated it with a negative connotation. For centuries, the mistreatment of women have been a constant battle, and some of our generation fails to understand the concept that women are equal to men. The misconceptions and stereotypes of feminism have led people to ignore and ridicule the importance of the feminist movement. The feminist movement is not just solely limited to proving that women are equal to men, we’re also busy killing the patriarchy, slaying misogynists, fighting the battle for women of color, actively promoting LGBTQ

However, despite what modern feminism should consist of, slow progress is being made. Yes, there are organizational groups that advocate women’s rights, directly or inadvertently, such as Planned Parenthood. No, that does not mean that feminism is advancing in modern perspective and no, feminism does not have the reverential reputation it should have. Factors such as the exponentially increased power of the media, exposure to violence at an earlier age, and the existence of an Internet where both considerate and ill intended opinions can, and will spread make up a disastrous formula for social chaos. This issue existed since a decade ago, and has only grown more prevalent, shown through an article titled “What Feminism Means Today”, by APA

Many times in life men do not think that women can do the same things that they can; whether it’s picking up boxes or being president. There will always be that “macho man” thought of the man being stronger than the woman. In many jobs women might do the exact same thing that men do except men are getting paid more than women even if it is an insignificant amount, it happens in many places and even though many people disapprove of it there are still jobs like that out there. And there are still employers who think that a woman should not be in the work force if so home. Many feminist have been working to solve this problem and there are still people who are working to solve and change many more of these problems, and even though in some places it doesn’t seem like it, feminism and feminists

The first major misconception about feminism is that the women are the only ones who can be feminist. This is extremely untrue. The people who work to support this movement are not only women. They work in many ways to help promote equality. For example, “endorsing feminist beliefs, identifying oneself as a feminist, and participating in feminist collective action” (Precopio & Ramsey 2017). These are all ways that feminists work to promote a better society. However, the negative stigma and stereotypes surrounding feminism and its supporters discourages men and women from having any part of Feminism. This is in part, the fault of those who spread