Women And The Feminist

’S Fight For Equality Essay, Research Paper

GENDER:

Women and the Feminist’s Fight for Equality

Tara Leigh Matthews

Bloomfield College

“People who are liberal thinkers have been enslaved by these poseurs, these racketeers, people who are pretending to be liberal but who are in fact just na.ve politically. I have been congratulated by women…who are so sick of being bullied by these sanctimonious puritans who call themselves feminists.” –Camille Paglia

Society has always retained deeply rooted stereotypes in all aspects of life. Whether it is prejudice due to color, creed, or gender, we cannot ignore the differential treatment of specific groups that occurs daily in our world. Although much has been done to alter our views on such matters, can we really suggest that society as a whole has undergone a true metamorphosis and emerged a completely unbiased community. When discussing the topic of gender, we can clearly see a major change in recent history concerning feminist issues. One could say that the idea of feminism began with the women’s suffrage movement. This enduring battle for equal rights ended with the addition of the nineteenth amendment granting women the right to vote. Since then, major strides have been made by women striving to prove themselves equal to their male counterpart. When we look at the role women play in the 21st century, it is hard to imagine the world as it was in centuries past. But how much have we as women truly gained. Are we really equal to men. Do we completely benefit from this feminist movement and lose nothing in the process. I am of the opinion that, while its fundamental goals were of good intent, feminism has created several major problems in today’s society. I believe feminism has reached a stand still and the movement is doing far more to retard its own progress than all of its attackers could ever hope. In its pursuit for fairness and justice, feminism has managed to 1. disrupt stable family lives, 2. alienate men and destruct relations, and finally, 3. discourage true empowerment for women.

There are roles played out by the male and the female that have remained stable and consistent throughout all walks of life for most of our existence. When we study almost any species of being, we see distinctly different jobs carried out by each member of a family. While our text would cite otherwise, I still believe the practical aspects of gender is universal. There are exceptions to every rule in nature and every culture will vary in it’s beliefs and traditions, which would allow for the findings of Ms. Mead in her study of New Guinea. Our text does acknowledge that “men are favored in all of the world’s societies,” which would show the need for change. However, when we truly examine what it is the feminists are trying to accomplish, we can link the feminist movement to the disintegration of the family unit as it is known to be. The proper functioning of a family relies greatly on the division of responsibility. In general, most societies have relied on the male to take on the figure of authority, while the female would tend to the raising of the children and domestic matters. To some this might seem a repressive role for a woman to place herself in, yet it is her role that keeps the family intact. These role distinctions are rooted in biology and remain present and unchanged in almost all primitive societies. It is only our “sophisticated” way of life that has seen fit to make changes in the basic makeup of the family unit.

When the feminist movement began, the woman’s role in her family was not conducive to achieving the goals the founders had envisioned for her. To the feminist, the idea of a weakened family life is inconsequential when compared to the great strides women have made in the world beyond her family. Many feminists are quick to abandon the natural and customary structure of a family in order to seek out what she believes to be a more prominent position in society. I would in no way criticize a woman for seeking to fulfill the potential of her own life. It is when those that think they know right from wrong decide to “protect” their fellow females and force their views upon them that I see a great injustice being carried out.

David Gelernter (1997) states:

They had jobs, but feminists weren’t satisfied; every other woman had to get one too. So they opened fire on homemakers with a savagery that still echoes throughout our culture. A housewife is a “parasite,” [Betty] Frieden writes; such women are “less than fully human” insofar as they “have never known a commitment to an idea.” -Drawing Life, Surviving the Unabomber, Free Press, p. 95

When women are all but forced to enter the workforce to meet feminist ideals, who is at home with their children. Do we not see a correlation between the lack of maternal influence and the path down which our children appear to be headed. Who is teaching the children of our society the difference between right and wrong when neither parent is in the home to guide them. The role of a woman as a nurturer to her children has been replaced by a woman who hurries her children off to a day care facility or a babysitter to make it to work by nine. I can’t imagine that these strangers we are allowing to raise our children have the same vested interest in our children that we as mothers have. A child should be raised i