Unequal Feminism

Feminism is the belief that people of all different backgrounds should be treated justly and fairly. Feminists believe that all people deserve equal pay to those in the same job. Otherwise put, “Feminism is an interdisciplinary approach to issues of equality and equity based on gender, gender expression, gender identity, sex, and sexuality as understood through social theories and political activism.” (EKU “What is Feminism?”) Such as, if a man in the same job doing the same things as a woman in that same job, they should be treated as equals. They should both earn the same amount of money for the job that they do. However, the wage gap is pushing this away from well-working women. If a man earns one dollar, a woman today earns just seventy-nine cents. This is unacceptable in many ways. Women are no different from men. They both can be hardworking and loyal employees. Sexism in the workplace is pushing single mothers and women back farther to being able to support themselves and support their families.

G. D. Anderson said it the best, "Feminism isn't about making woman stronger. Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength." Feminism is improving the inequality that women face. As women, we have come a long way from our catastrophic past, but we still have a long way to go before we are even deemed equal as the opposite sex. There are three historical areas of inequality in the feminist movement: political, cultural, and economic.

Premises: (Given) gender has been a point of controversy throughout history. (Given) controversy leads to differences in viewpoints and interpretations.

The readings and video that have been discussed in this lesson have definitely changed my perspective on many things relating to feminism and women’s oppression as a whole. Before I started this class, I was unaware of all the events women went through in for their rights. Now, that I have started this class I have become more aware of how women’s rights has become a prominent issue in America today.

The disparity for women’s rights is a struggle which I have witnessed. My wife’s salary is not as high as some of her male counterparts in the education system. After reading the ACLU website on women’s rights, I can’t think of an exact reason on why there is a disparity but it is clear that there is unequal pay between men and women. The ACLU (2017) section on women’s rights states, “Women still make just 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. Black women earn only 64 cents and Latina’s only 54 cents for each dollar earned by white men”.

One of the main points that the author is trying to pass across is that the main goal of feminism is to end all forms of sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression. In our world today and back then before our generation, it has always been a male-dominated kind of community where man has power over woman. The notion portrayed been that man is in control hence deserves better paying jobs, better privileges and opportunities etc. leads to what is known as Patriarchy. The author believes that in order to create a world free of sexism, exploitation and oppression is by men and women both believing in and fighting for the cause. Equality brings committed relationships, which are more lasting and healthy to the

Feminism is deeply critical of the character of modern societies, where it’s arguments can be based on fundamental inequalities. Like Marxism which locates the roots of inequality in capital ownership, feminism points to the domination of males in society (patriarchy) being the root of human inequalities and injustices. We see that inequalities are pervasive aspects of our modern lives meaning men have economic, political, and cultural power while women do not. It is seen that women occupy the marginal spaces of private life and domesticity while men generally control public life. We tend to normalize the oppression of women and that is with the help of cultural products like television, film and other popular mediums. “The media enables traditional gender stereotypes because it reflects prevailing social values” (Comm 3263, 2011). Which leads to the realization that our world is structured by a sexual imbalance in mass media culture.

Feminism, the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men (Webster’s Thesaurus Dictionary). Feminist seek to find impartiality between the genders, in not only the work force, but many different aspects of their lives. Feminist are spectated to be individuals who believe in female domination, and that is not precise. Feminist believe that women and men should be treated equal to each other, neither sex defines who they are or makes them superior to the other.

Feminism to me has always been about women’s right for equality in everything from the

The definition of feminism states “the belief that men and woman should have equal rights and opportunities” (“feminism”). Modern feminism is no longer about equality and is in fact counterproductive to the cause. The fight for equal rights has been transformed into a fight for privilege, waged against causes insignificant in the big picture of gender equality; causes like manspreading, cat calls, air conditioning, and representation in video games. We are waging a war in a new and changed society, using an old definition of what the movement is meant to be. Modern-day feminism is now obsolete in the Western World because the fight for equal rights between genders has been won.

Although Feminism was already a topic I knew a lot about, I wanted to learn more about in order to be able to effectively explain it to people. I hoped to learn what feminism truly is, how it fit into gender equality, some good examples of feminism, and what feminism is still working for. I was hoping to learn all this in order to be able to show and tell people what feminism is, and to help get rid of any misunderstandings towards feminism. I also wanted to make sure I had my facts right about what I am often arguing for. What I basically learned is that unlike popular belief, feminism is actually the belief in the equality of all sexes. This includes equal opportunities in politics, economics, personal, and social life, as well as equal rights to education and employment. Through much research, I also learned everything else I wanted to know about feminism.

There are many misconceptions about feminism. Some men see feminists as lesbians or man haters. Anti-feminists typically dictate the term as supporting women’s equality and opposing men’s. In addition, some more common misconceptions consist of feminism being a movement only for gender equality, a fight for matriarchy and power, and male feminists being considered against their gender. Many individuals see the word Feminism, and immediately interpret it as a movement strictly for women’s causes. However, men can be feminists too. In fact, anyone who believes in gender equality can be a feminist. Nevertheless, to me feminism is the movement that not just aims for women’s equality but also for men’s. Feminism embraces the belief that every human-being is entitled to freedom and liberty and should not be discriminated based on gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, culture, or lifestyle.

One question, has feminism accomplished anything for you? If you are male then the answer will always be no. This is because feminism is now about male discrimination and not equality. This is because feminism preaches equality but practices misandry. Feminists have come up with this idea of all men having “male privilege” which is completely false. There are three “waves” of feminism: the “first wave” which focused on getting the votes for women (the suffragettes), “second wave” feminism which helped get domestic rights for women and now, “third wave” feminism, which focuses on senseless issues such as the supposed “wage gap” and women getting more abuse online than men. Third wave feminism is damaging to men in general but it also divides the sexes apart. If you really think feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of equality then answer this, what rights do men have that women don’t in the UK?

Feminist theory analyzes the gender inequality that women have faced throughout the years due to a patriarchal society. Women were expected to fit the traditional female and conform to the gender norms that society has constructed. According to A Brief Introduction to Critical Theory, “Feminism embodies a way of reading that investigates the text’s investment in or reaction to the patriarchal power structures that have dominated Western culture” (227). Patriarchal power has oppressed women economically, socially, and politically. Women were associated more with domesticity than with politics and financial situations. They were not provided the same educational opportunities as men. These issues have been addressed by people, such as Mary

Throughout the past few decades, the gender inequality discourse have became a dominant feature of international, national and local policy debate on the subject of economic development. This policy concern has emerged as an area of scholarly research which seeks to show that improving gender equity leads to economic growth.