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Women and the fight for equality
Women and the fight for equality
Effects of sexism on society
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Recommended: Women and the fight for equality
There is an ongoing war on women in today’s society, but it has been cleverly disguised and been waged for so long that many people don’t even realize it’s still happening. Women have been fighting for equality for centuries. Though today, we may not be fighting for the right to vote, hold office, or own land, we are still fighting a quieter battle for respectful and fair treatment from the opposite sex. Men have long thought themselves superior to women in intelligence, social position, and physical abilities. In fact, it is such a long-held, ingrained belief that many men never think to question it. These stubbornly-held ways of thinking are far overdue for an upgrade.
Sexism is the belief or mindset that the male sex is superior to the female sex (Byron). Sexism manifests in many ways, subtle or otherwise. Some of the more common ways sexism is displayed is by men disrespecting, disregarding, degrading, and viewing women as sexual objects for their pleasure. As Captain John L. Bryon, retired Navy captain said, “Sexual harassment, fraternization, and other miscreant acts are symptoms of the problem, but they don’t define it: the disease is much deeper than this.” The women of today live in a world where the word “feminist” is an insult. Feminism, by definition, is the belief in the full economic, political, and social equality of males and females (Mankiller). Contrary to popular belief, feminism is not the strive for a female-dominated society, but a society where men and woman are truly equal in every aspect. Feminism is, in fact, the most inclusive social movement. Feminists fight for equality for not only women, but also other minorities, be it class, race, gender, identity, or sexuality (Mankiller). Yet, in the eyes of so...
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Mankiller, Wilma, and others. "Feminism and Feminisms." The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History. Dec. 1 1998: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Mankiller, Wilma, and others. “Stereotypes.” The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History. Dec 1 1998: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
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In the past there were many biases against women and their lack of abilities compared to men. Although the male perspective has changed over the past few centuries, there are many feminists who still fight for ...
Sexism is still very much real and ongoing. It is being dealt with and is bettering compared to previous generations, yet, there is still left to take care of and inequality is an issue without a doubt. Feminism is the advocacy of women 's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. It is an old movement, but recently started rapidly growing worldwide. We live in a mans world ruled by men whether everyone would like to admit it or not. As feminism grows and more join the movement, ‘matriarchy’ is a term that comes up often. Matriarchy is what’s defined as a society ruled by women. This plays in the gender roles of society, and the expectations and stereotypes set on one based off their gender. One is expected to
Hymowitz, Carol, and Michaele Weissman. A History of Women in America. New York: Bantam, 1978. Print.
Feminism advocates for neither gender holding more power than the other; therefore, if one does not support or consider themselves feminists, they are a sexist; believing one gender is superior to the other.
In the majority of early cultures and societies, women have always been considered subservient and inferior to men. Since the first wave of feminism in the 19th century, women began to revolt against those prejudicial social boundaries by branching out of the submissive scope, achieving monumental advances in their roles in civilization. However, gender inequality is still prevalent in developed countries. Women frequently fall victim to gender-based assault and violence, suffer from superficial expectations, and face discriminatory barriers in achieving leadership roles in employment and equal pay. Undoubtedly, women have gained tremendous recognition in their leaps towards equal opportunity, but to condone these discrepancies, especially
Sexism is defined as prejudice or discrimination based on sex . When approached with the topic of sexism and which sex it affects the most, women are generally the first thought that comes to mind. This is because women have faced a certain degree of discrimination all throughout history. Sexism is an issue that covers a wide range of circumstances. For example, it can be something inconsequential, like the outdated idea that women cannot be strong, but it can also be something substantial, like the glass ceiling in the job market. Although modern women are afforded a lot more opportunities and privileges than women in the past, there still exists a certain stigma surrounding women and their capabilities. Sexism in respect to women is a largely
Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 4th Ed. -. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 1996. 293-307. Hewitt, Nancy. A. "Beyond the Search for Sisterhood: American Women's History in the 1980's.
In this day and age, it would be nearly impossible to find a person that has not heard of sexism or feminism. As the name would imply, feminism is the strive for equality for women, for whom situations have improved drastically over just the last 100 years, and will likely continue to improve long into the future. To most people, sexism is a word that means discrimination strictly against women—but this is not entirely true. Men, and especially young boys, are susceptible to stigma as well. The majority of a boy’s childhood, and possibly even into adulthood, he will be surrounded by seemingly harmless phrases such as: “Be a man,” or “Man up.” These subtle phrases slowly but
Throughout history, women have remained subordinate to men. Subjected to the patriarchal system that favored male perspectives, women struggled against having considerably less freedom, rights, and having the burdens society placed on them that had been so ingrained the culture. This is the standpoint the feminists took, and for almost 160 years they have been challenging the “unjust distribution of power in all human relations” starting with the struggle for equality between men and women, and linking that to “struggles for social, racial, political, environmental, and economic justice”(Besel 530 and 531). Feminism, as a complex movement with many different branches, has and will continue to be incredibly influential in changing lives.
If men can learn from them, it could be for everyone’s benefit.” Noah Berlatsky, (The Atlantic, 2013). Gender discrimination is nothing new to our society and it has been an ongoing predicament that goes against both men and women. Women have dealt with the challenges of gender inequality since history which is why women are more prone to be against sex discrimination and have quite not changed for the reason being women are still viewed as inferior to men. The nature of superiority men have been structured in has blindsided the fact that men also face the same challenges of sex oppression as women. Men are known to be more aggressive and more emotionally stable and are known to a cultural strength women tend not to have which is why gender discrimination against men is low compared to
Since the beginning of time, women have always been seen as things purely for the pleasure and benefit of men. Women have always been objectified. Objectification is seeing and treating a person as if they did not have thoughts and feelings, as if they had the status of an object.{1} Only in recent years have they begun to be seen as individuals of equal intelligence and ability. You may think, ”Women have had equal rights for a while. I do not see how this is a problem.” It may not seem like women were given their rights recently, but in our history, women have been treated objectively for thousands of years, even dating back to biblical times. Still, even when women have the same rights, opportunities, and responsibility as men, women can be found almost everywhere being treated as though they were incompetent and lesser human beings.{4}
In the past, many people believed that women’s exclusive responsibilities were to serve their husband, to be great mothers and to be the perfect wives. Those people considered women to be more appropriate for homemaking rather than to be involved in business or politics. This meant that women were not allowed to have a job, to own property or to enjoy the same major rights as men. The world is changing and so is the role of women in society. In today’s society, women have rights that they never had before and higher opportunities to succeed.