Feminism

Women have been struggling for over a hundred years to gain basic rights that are equal to men in our society. The feminist movement earned women the right to vote, but there were no acceptable roles that women could accept in the workforce. Over the last century the roles that women were socially accepted in became greater. Finally in the early Twenty-first Century, women have achieved much of the equality they have always wanted. Feminism is actually a term that works to explain the struggle of women to gain equal rights politically, socially and economically. There have been many gains for women but there is a ways left to go.

Negative Stereotypes of Feminist

One of the major problems with the feminist movement is that it perpetuates many stereotypes which are simply not true but based on the behaviors of a small minority of those in the feminist movement. When a woman identifies herself as a feminist it should mean that she is in favor of not being discriminated against because of her sex. Economically women have traditionally been paid less than men to complete the same task. This blatant inequity needed to be addressed because if you can pay someone less, the statement being made is that they are not worth as much.

When a woman stands up for herself in the workplace or in society at large, there are a lot of generalizations that people unfairly characterize them with. They are assumed to be difficult, unhappy and dislike all men. However this is simply a use of stereotyping that generalizes all women and makes it difficult for real dialogue to occur. Whenever a generalization is presented as a truth then the individuality of all women is jeopardized. This is particularly the case, even today when the issue of rape is mentioned. Often times the legal system of the United States make it difficult on the victim and in some cased place the blame on them for a unwanted sexual attack, that the trauma of the trial is worse than the attack itself. This needs to be changed so that all women are secure in their bodies and well being wherever they are.

Conclusion

When it comes to the feminist movement there have been a lot of significant advances toward women gaining equality in all aspects of life. Even though women have come a long way over that past one hundred years there is still a ways to go in order to make sure that the dignity of all people is protected. There are many men and women in the world who can celebrate the differences that exist between people without discriminating against them.