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Callie Moss
Mrs. DeBock
English IV
12 October, 2015
Womens Rights and Feminism
In todays society and in the media there is constant talk about equal rights, womens
rights, body image, school dress code, and many other subtopics that all contribute to one idea;
Feminism. The best definition for feminism is the belief in social, political and economic
equality between the sexes, contrary to the definition some opponents of Womens rights have
(Issit and Flynn). Opponents of Womens rights movement and the Feminist movement claims
men's rights are being overlooked, and even retracted, and that the main focus of gender
egalitarians is the promotion of women's rights when that is not the case at all (Rich and
Walker). Todays Feminist movements strive to promote equality among the sexes, especially in
the workforce, and do not promote misandry (the hatred of men). Feminists are working to
promote awareness to gender inequality and try to make gender egalitarian movement that
,explained by Rich and Walker is the promotion of equal rights and equal consideration for all
genders, more widespread. Many critics of Feminism believe that the issues Feminists try to
promote are irrelevant in todays society. Although there always has been many opponents, the
issues of Womens rights and Feminism are still important in the modern-Era because of many
social, political, and economical reasons.
Women are still being oppressed in society today. Women, especially in Less Developed
Countries, are still viewed by their male counterparts as inferior. Every city, country, and

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continent have different societal views of women but overall the outlook is the same; women and
the role of females is often viewed as being of less importance or value than that of males
(Murray and Quinn). Women are often put into lower rankings in society simply based off of
their genders. Women are even oppressed by other females in society. There always has been and
always will be if nothing changes, the beauty standard that is often based off of ludacris ideals
and if certain women do not fit someones beauty standard, they are discriminated against.
Women can be judged based on their decision to wear makeup or not, to shave their legs or not,
and so forth, and this judgment can cause them to be viewed as being even lower in societal
ranking. In the modern-Era, women do have a higher ranking in society because of past Feminist
movements but activists and feminists are still fighting for womens rights because they want
more freedoms for women to choose their place in society (Quezzaire and Finley). Some
women are still expected to be the typical housewife that stays at home all day to cook and clean
and take care of the children but as a result of past feminist and womens rights movements,
women are able to overcome societal rankings and obtain jobs in the workforce.
In past decades, it was nearly unheard of that a women had a job and was a part of the
work force. Women used to be viewed as just housewives but now they can obtain jobs and can
make their own income instead of just relying on their husbands. Even though women can obtain
jobs in the workforce, they are still being discriminated against in different ways. Women are
often put into jobs that are seen as feminine and womens jobs which gives them access
only to low-productivity and low-paid jobs (Murray and Quinn). Women are often paid less
than men who are doing the same jobs as them simply because they are female. Statistics and
tests run by the National Equal Pay Task Force show that women earned about 84 cents to every
one dollar earned by men in 2012 and that the statistics for women of color such as African

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Americans and Latinos, the gap is even larger (Quezzaire and Finley). Women are rarely put into
positions of authority or positions that have control. The workforce is still dominated by men and
while they tend to hold positions of high power and have large salaries, women generally tend
to be concentrated in lower-paying occupations and are not well represented in high-level
managerial positions (Womens Rights). It is still rare for a women to be in a high-ranking
position and is even rarer to see a women in politics or in a part of the government.
Women in politics and any government job are so rare that some places dont even have
women representatives yet. Men dominate the branches of government from the local level such
as a police force to the national level such as the House of Representatives and the Senate
(Murray and Quinn). The women that are in office and have power over a group of people often
dont get the full recognition when they do accomplish something simply because of their
gender. When women in office do have power but dont use their power wisely, or when one
makes a bad decision on something, a lot of women suffer (Solod). Women that arent
represented by someone in Congress often do not get a voice in government at all. When women
are lucky enough to gain a place in the government or in office, they are often unable to rise
above a certain ranking because of an invisible glass-ceiling that is a barrier that prevents
women from rising above their ranks (Auerbach). Women are poorly represented in government
settings and are largely outnumbered by men.
The issues of Womens Rights and Feminism are still important in the modern-Era
because of many social, political, and economical reasons. Women in both the past and the
present have faced discrimination. There have been many movements to help the advancement of
womens rights and equality. Many lobbyists have worked for years to help make women equal
to men and they will probably have to work on it for the rest of their lives (Kaplan). Women are

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discriminated against in all aspects of life: socially, politically, and economically. There have
been many waves of Feminist movements and though they help make progress, there is still a lot
of work that needs to be done (Womens Rights). Feminists and womens rights activists are
constantly trying to make improvements for women in the modern-Era but are often getting a
bad name because some people think that they hate men and want to take away mens rights, but
they just want equality of the genders (Rich and Walker). Though there have been many
improvements made to the treatment of women and gender equality, there are still many goals
and improvements that have to be accomplished.

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Works Cited
Auerbach, Michael P. "Gender In The Realm Of Politics." Points Of View: Reference ShelfRevisiting Gender (2014): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 06 Oct. 2015.
Issitt, Micha L., and Flynn. "Feminism: An Overview." Points Of View: Feminism (2015):
1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
Kaplan, Temma. "Human Rights for Women Are Receiving Greater Attention." Human Rights.
Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt.
from "Women's Rights as Human Rights: Women as Agents for Social Change." Women,
Gender, and Human Rights: A Global Perspective. Ed. Marjorie Agosn. New Brunswick,
NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2001. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 15 Sept.
2015.
Murray, Una, and Patrick Quinn. "Girls Have Fewer Rights and Opportunities than Boys." Do
Children Have Rights? Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Rpt. from "Give Girls
a Chance: Tackling Child Labour, a Key to the Future." Geneva, Switzerland:
International Labour Office, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.
"Preface to 'What is Feminism?'." Feminism. Ed. Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven Press,
2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
Quezzaire, Pilar, and Laura Finley. "Womens Rights: An Overview." Points Of View: Women's
Rights (2015): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
Rich, Alex K., and Katherine Walker. "Gender Equality: An Overview." Points Of View: Gender
Equality (2015): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

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Solod, Lisa. "Women's Rights Are Compromised When Female Candidates Reject Feminism."
Feminism. Ed. Nancy Dziedzic. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints.
Rpt. from "Michele Bachmann Is Not a Feminist but She Is Running for President."
Huffington Post. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
"Womens Rights." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2015. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.