Essay on Women in the 1990's

Sexism is defined as prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex, and is a topic that has been on and off the media throughout the years, becoming more prevalent in the 21st century. Many iconic figures throughout the ages have spoken out for women, people like Mahatma Gandhi, who said “Of all the evils for which man has made himself responsible, none is so degrading, so shocking, or so brutal as his abuse of the better half of humanity; to me, the female sex is not the weaker sex.” Sexism has been around for about as long as the human race, dating back to biblical times and beyond. A woman’s traditional role in the family has been that of the cook, the cleaner, the child raiser, and the gardener.

Sexism is much like racism in a sense that it is the unequal treatment of individuals based on an

Over the last several decades, great strides have been made when it comes to eliminating sexism and progressing towards gender equality. However, sexism is still ingrained in our everyday culture. This is evident in the fact that in 2017 women earn about 80 cents to a man’s dollar and are less likely to be promoted within the workplace. It’s an unfortunate fact the most women will experience some form of sexism throughout their lives. In this paper, I will address my personal experiences with both hostile and benevolent sexism, how the two forms of sexism differ, and how these experiences have affected me.

In the United States of America, there is always a power struggle. Women of the late 1800s showed men that they were here to change things up. The struggle even came from within, between the white and black women to see who would get power first. So, the struggle in late 1800s America was between the role of a man and a woman and was ultimately changing the role of a female in America, creating hundreds and hundreds of unions and associations, and finally creating many laws that were create an equal opportunity at the American dream.

Over the years, the groups for women have grown more widespread. Women still march for equal rights, equal pay, ect. Women were not treated equally to man, especially in the late 1800’s. “Women were still being denied public roles, rights, and responsibilities in the late 1800’s.” (Credo Reference, Women’s Movement: An Overview pg. 1) Women could not have a public role such as, business man, mechanic, store owner, factory worker ect. The rights and responsibilities of women were also being denied. No one wanted women to be or even thought of as an equal to man. “Women’s attempts to work within the abolitionist movement of the 1830’s illustrated that they were not yet considered political equals of men.” (Credo Reference, Women’s Movement: An Overview pg. 1) “In 1840, at the world Anti-Slavery Convention in London, women were sent to galleries and prohibited from participating.” (Credo Reference, Women’s Movement: An Overview pg. 1) Women were not allowed to participate in any kind of public affiliation they were always sent off and prohibited from participating. “The early movement continued to address a variety of issues concerning women’s lives, including supporting the temperance movement in the late 1800’s.” (Credo Reference, Women’s Movement: An Overview pg. 1) “In 1875, the NWSA suffered a setback when the Supreme Court ruled that suffrage was not a privilege granted by the Fourteenth Amendment, which guaranteed the rights of free man.” (Credo Reference, Women’s Movement: An Overview pg. 2) “Finally, after having been introduced every year to Congress beginning in 1878, the Nineteenth Amendment, the Woman Suffrage Amendment, was ratified on August 26, 1920.” (Credo Reference, Women’s Movement: An Overview pg. 2) Finally, in 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified. Women could start being seen a little more as an equal, and not so much as a

According to Bardes, Shelly, and Schmidt (2010), an interest group is “an organized group of individuals sharing common objectives who actively attempt to influence policymakers” (p. 225). In America, our government is guided by interest groups who uses different techniques to try to persuade politicians to advocate for their beliefs. The National Organization for Women (NOW) is one example of the many interest group in America that is lobbying for their ideology. NOW is a beneficial interest group because it fights for women inequality and also supports Amendment I in the Constitution.

Many groups of people throughout the history of the United States have fought to change for change and fairness for their groups. Women have been among the courageous groups that have forged paths to create better lives for themselves and future generations of women.

Most people think that the fight for women's equality stopped years ago when in reality it still remains a national issue. Legally it appears as though women have the same freedoms as men, for example the right to vote, freedom of speech, etc. But due to the fact that women still don't obtain equal pay or have nationwide paid maternity leave, it's still an ongoing fight. Fair and equal rights for women are still a large problem in the U.S. and we need to take action against these injustices.

The National Organization for Women is an organization that focuses on obtaining total equal rights for women. Founded in 1966, their work includes gaining social rights, family rights, economic rights, and just general human being rights, among others, for women, which are still lacking in today's society. Actions that they have taken include decreasing the wage gap, expanding knowledge on women's health issues, gaining marriage and family rights, and targeting the lack of realistic representation of women in our society. The National Organization for Women also operates on an international base, with the United Nations as their main international focus. Even so, though the majority of their actions are focused with the United States.

There have been numerous civil rights groups that have fought for the rights of many individuals such as the LGTBQ communities and organizations like the NAACP. According to our textbook American Government and Politics Today, women have struggled with equality, domestic violence, abortion rights, and pornography, but thankfully there are various organizations that are trying to change that (Bardes, Shelley, Schmidt 135). Personally, I greatly admire the National Organization for Women, also referred to as NOW, because they fought and continue to fight for equality for women in all aspects of life (workforce, education, etc.). Additionally, it is evident that we are still dealing with these issues and Hillary Clinton’s candidacy for President

Work Book 2002 states “Women’s group have changed many people’s views about male and female roles. These changes have affected the workplace, the family, and the way women live their lives. Through the vote, women’s groups have influenced election results and government.” (Donald 387). After gaining women’s suffrage, the National American Woman Suffrage Association became the League of Women Voters, which educated women voters about current political issues. Although the women’s movement died down after the 19th Amendment, it thrived once again in the 1960’s to combat against what was the considered the traditional house-wife’s role and fight gender discrimination. Two types of women’s, women’s liberation groups and women’s rights group, worked to fight against sexism in society. Women’s liberation groups were small, leaderless, and informal, focusing on self- awareness, equality in marriage, education, and employment. Women’s rights groups, on the other hand, were larger formal organizations compared to women’s liberation groups and sought the creation and enforcement of laws that promoted equal rights. The Women’s Equity Action League, a women’s rights group founded in 1968, discovered an environment where female students were often discouraged from participating in class, labeled the “chilly

Sexism, is a prejudice plain and simple. One of the earliest forms of violence directed toward women was the Witch Hunt Trials of the Middle Ages. Bishops debated whether a woman was really human at all. If her nose were too long, she had red hair, a humped back, or if she was exceptionally beautiful, she was thought to be a witch and was burned at the stake. There was an estimated nine million women burned during the Witch Trials. During the “Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1960’s, feminist theorists explained that oppression of women was widespread in nearly all human society, and spoke of sexism instead of male chauvinism. Male chauvinists were usually individual men who expressed the belief that they were superior to women” (Napikoski). By the mid 20th century sexism was established and began to appear in advertising. Between the 1970’s and 1990’s women began to feel more equal to men until the 1980’s where they were portrayed as sex symbols on national television (The Origin and History of SEXISM). There are two main types of sexism, benevolent and hostile, and their definitions are opposite from one another. Hostile sexism is what most people perceive as sexism today as it seems sexism is occurring more and more often and is, notably, more vulgar. It is the notion that women are inferior or not as worthy; a belief that males are intrinsically superior. For many years women have been degraded and looked down upon with the idea that their place is in the kitchen with

Women everywhere in our culture were having similar experiences of unfair treatment because of being female, so they banded together to improve their social and professional status. Women created several support systems for each other, because they knew that the only way to bring about change was in numbers. The League of Women Voters set a precedent over 50 years ago as a successful organization made to ensure women the same voting rights as men. There are now such

The women’s movement began in the nineteenth century when groups of women began to speak out against the feeling of separation, inequality, and limits that seemed to be placed on women because of their sex (Debois 18). By combining two aspects of the past, ante-bellum reform politics and the anti-slavery movement, women were able to gain knowledge of leadership on how to deal with the Women’s Right Movement and with this knowledge led the way to transform women’s social standing (Dubois 23). Similarly, the movement that made the largest impact on American societies of the 1960’s and 1970’s was the Civil Right Movement, which in turn affected the women’s movement (Freeman 513). According to

     In the aftermath of World War II, the lives of the women have changed dramatically. Women spoke their minds out and wanted to be heard. World War II brought them a new outlook on how they should live their lives. It encouraged women organize social movements such as boycotts and public marches pushing for their human rights and protect them against discrimination. Alongside, they formed their own organization representing them against the federal government like the NOW or National Organization for Women. Through the years, women have been struggling to fight for equal rights and unfortunately still exist even at the present in some areas. Yes, women’s status was not like what they used to back then, where their