If you think racism doesn't exist anymore, I bet $100 you're voting for Trump. And I also bet you think feminism isn't "needed" anymore because Hillary Clinton is running for president. I'm going to argue this by saying that feminism is needed as much as awareness of the racism that still occurs in our country, even worldwide--is needed.
Sexism is much more than what meets the eye or ear. Sexism is still practiced in both the private and public sphere. That's why feminism is important. And let me clear this out for you, feminism is the belief of the social, political and economic equality of the sexes. It's not a group of man-hating butch or lesbians who are crazy for power, like a lot of stereotypes make people believe. There is no man-hating in real feminism. And yeah there are lesbian and butch feminists but there are also straight people, men, married females, and people of all ethnicities that are feminists too. So, if you believe your daughter, mother, sister, or female cousin deserves the same rights as you, let me tell you, you're a feminist.
With that being cleared up, I'll start off by saying that girls of all ages are still being put down by the social construction of gender roles. And this happens both in the private and public sphere. Whether it is consciously or unconsciously, many parents buy into the genderization of what colors to dress their kids in, what toys they can and cannot play with, what cartoons they're allowed to watch, etc. That's the private sphere. In the public sphere, kids of all ages learn gender roles from their teachers, classmates, and people everywhere. In school, girls are often led to believe they are not as smart as boys in subjects like math and science. Because of this, girls usually lean to subjects like English or history. This is also why feminism is needed. Girls of all ages need to be empowered and empower one another to fight for what they want. If that means playing with action figures or becoming a scientist, then so be it. Gender roles need to be acknowledged, but most importantly stopped.
When women go to college, a lot of people often assume they're choosing a major along the lines of English, psychology, sociology, art, etc. What about those who decide to major in biology, chemistry or mathematics? Why don't we speak about them often? And if women are majoring in sociology or art, why is their work not equally worth to the work done by men? Or why isn't it appraised like the men's work?
Just because women have come a long way in the workforce, that does not mean they are getting treated or paid equally to men. Discrimination in the work environment does still exist. The gender pay gap is not nonexistent. Women in a lot of careers and jobs are getting paid less than men for the same work. Hasn't this been an issue since the dinosaur era? Kidding, but you get my point. Now, women are getting paid 79 cents for every dollar a man makes. Where's the equality in that? It may not seem like a lot, but it is and it's also a sign of the inequality present in our society. Also why feminism is very much needed and important. Recently, Jennifer Lawrence spoke out about her experience on finding out her male costars were getting paid more than her. I thought the gender pay gap didn't exist anymore? It does and that's exactly my point; it does, and as long as people do not take feminism seriously (which also means you're not taking women seriously), the pay gap will continue to exist. Btw, thanks for speaking out about that J-Law. P.S. Don't be afraid to speak out!
More and more celebrities are speaking out about feminism, which is pretty exciting if you ask me. Among those are Emma Watson, Jennifer Lawrence, Beyonce, Amy Schumer, Pharrell Williams, Taylor Swift, Tiny Fey, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and so on. But do you see a trend? We need more male celebrities to speak out on feminism. Because feminism is still important. What needs to happen is male celebrities need to be asked what they think about feminism as opposed to just female celebrities being asked. You'll be surprised to find out which male celebs are proud to say they're feminists.
Speaking of celebrities, there are a lot of gender lines in the world of music and film. Slowly, this is breaking, but a lot of male celebrities receive much more appraise and positive attention for their work over female actresses, singers, directors, etc. So, let's put a stop to the unfair treatment among the sexes. Where do we start? By acknowledging what feminism really is, realizing it's important, and spreading the message.
And remember...
