By definition, feminism is “the doctrine advocating social, political, and other rights of women to equal those of men.” Contrary to popular belief, feminism actually isn’t a practice that thrives upon throwing men from their places in society and transforming Earth into an entirely matriarchal world. Feminism is really a mindset in which its participants thrive to end all oppression, gender roles, and discrimination against the sexes. The followers and those who encourage it are called feminists, typically thought of as strictly females with every desire to eliminate men from the world. Feminists in American culture are seen as whiny and over reactive, just women “looking for more things to complain about.” However, the reality behind feminism is that we are all just humans trying to survive. Some of us are just tired of being silenced.
In our country, as well as many others, we have public media sculpting images in our minds of what the “real” man and woman should look and act like. These expectations give off the idea that we have to meet all of these standards to be seen as a worthwhile and acceptable individual. The shoes men and women are specifically asked to fill are known as gender roles. These are the traits we place on each sex and tell them to acquire or else they are not seen as acceptable. The cultural norm for women is to be beautiful, respectful, fit, quiet, motherly, and dependent on their man. If not, apparently they are not “real women.” The same goes for men who are raised to be independent, strong, shapely, providing, and tough or else they are seen as weak, which is a man’s worst nightmare.
The pressure of gender roles has never been higher in our society than it is today. Our country is raising its little girls to believe that they are worth nothing more than how well they can cook and how spotless the house looks after they’ve been working on it all day, that their number one goal in life is to score a successful husband to provide for them, and that it is shameful to be a woman because we are weak. On the other end of the spectrum, boys are being raised to believe that there is nothing more important than being brawny and liking all things man, that breaking outside the box of masculinity is a sin, and that their number one goal should be to score the most girls and break their hearts or else they’re not truly a man. The extremity of these standards strikes me as shallow. Are we not all humans anyway, just trying to get through each day. Without all this extra baggage to carry around and worry about, wouldn’t it be easier to breathe?
Another unfortunate, but common problem is that of shaming. It is recognized that rape can happen to anyone of either sex, however it is becoming common for female victims to be blamed for the harassment she has endured. Upon reporting their rape or harassment, some women are overlooked or even blamed because of the clothes they were wearing the night of the assault or because they were drunk when it happened. Of course, it is highly preached all over media that it’s really only rape if someone says no. The woman’s clothes easily could’ve provoked the man, and if she was under the influence she probably wasn’t able to say no…so was it really rape? Yes, it was. It has been recognized all over the world that if it is not mutually consensual sex it is rape, and rape in Indiana is going to guarantee a bare minimum of four years in prison.
I personally had an experience with overlooked harassment my freshman year of high school. Over our winter break, I was having a girl’s night with my mother and we went to the store to pick up cupcake mix and coffee creamer for something we were going to do at home. I was decked out in my The Walking Dead t-shirt and red leggings, not thinking anything of it. While in the dairy section picking up our last item, two extremely drunk men stumbled into our path. We passed them without saying a word because they were not causing any harm, but were a bit unnerved at their decision to go to the store while intoxicated. As they passed, though, they started to talk to me in a very derogatory manor and started to say really inappropriate things concerning what I was wearing. In the end, my mother really gave it to them and I left feeling violated and disgusted with myself. When I told someone what happened the only response I got wasn’t one of concern or apologies, but simply “People always say stupid things when they’ve been drinking.” What hurt me about this was that it still didn’t take away from the fact that I was verbally harassed at a supermarket and embarrassed to tears in front of my mother and they were still going to defend the men who did it simply because they were under the influence and everyone knows people aren’t to their senses after they’ve consumed alcohol. Did that really make it okay, though? Was that supposed to calm my nerves and ease my thoughts of hatred toward my own self, because it really wasn’t working.
What I couldn’t shake was the thoughts of how things could’ve turned out differently. Had I worn something else, if I was a boy, if they weren’t drunk would things have taken a different turn? I sat the whole night blaming myself because that is what I was taught to do. If I am made uncomfortable, as a woman, it is probably my fault and that really concerns me. I think of all the girls who were actually raped and are too afraid to use their voice and demand justice because they are made to believe they had it coming.
Some visible signs that women are seen as lesser in society is their position in work force and with the government. Just because women earned their right to vote in 1920, does not mean all of our problems regarding the government have been wiped clean. It has been proven that if a man and a woman with the same education and skill set apply for a job, the employer is more likely to choose the man over the woman. Worldwide, the employment rate for men stands at 34% while for women it is only 18%. Another thing to go along with that is that for every dollar a man is making, a woman counterpart is only earning seventy-seven cents. Why is that? Is every woman in a facility less capable than the man she is working next to, so they pay her less than they pay him for that reason?
Women make up over half of the population of the United States, but the U.S. Senate is only 20% female and only 17.9% of the U.S. House. Seeing these numbers is a bit unnerving because with the lack of females in high places of authority men are passing laws on strictly female issues, like abortion, that they are not as well educated on as a woman would be, seeing as they do not actually have an idea of what it is like to carry a child. With such a low number of politically inclined women, and rape culture standing where it is today I fear for the women of our nation who do not have a higher power representing their needs and cries. Women all over the States need other females in the government to help them find their voices and fight for what is necessary.
In conclusion, since the feminist movement began in the 1960s (actually goes back to the late 1800s if the suffrage movement is to be included in the timeline), women have gained not only a sense of security but a sense of strength. Everyday more of the barriers that stand between women and being treated as equals are being broken. The oppression, silencing, and gender roles forced upon women in today’s society calls for feminism to stand up and demand justice. Everyday, we are getting closer to that goal. Men and women have evolved with the times, gathering new stereotypes and standards as they moved along. Physically and mentally men and women are drastically different but once that is stripped away, we are all the same skeleton.
