Matthew Lu

Professor O'Brien
HIST 1302
4/23/2014
Equal Rights for Women
Civil rights for women have come a long way. In the past fifty years, many changes
have occurred to our laws that would have never been thought possible 50 years ago.
Traditionally, the role of the woman was to be the housewife while the breadwinner
husband does the work. But in the 1960's as shown by Betty Friedan, not everything was
all smoke and mirrors. There was a minority of women who in fact, were not pleased with
their role in society. Those women wanted to be able to make change, to be able to vote,
to be able to get a job. Moving on through the years, many women's rights groups sprung
up, leading the way with events such as Seneca Falls. Through persistence, blood, and
tears women eventually managed to obtain suffrage, or the right to vote. But it didn't stop
there. Women wanted to be on even footing with men, to be paid the same, to have the
ability to vote like men. Through this, a new form of women's rights sprang forth;
Feminism. We are at the present day of 2014. Are both genders equal? No. Women get
paid an average of a dollar less than men, and have less work opportunities than men. But
the same holds true for the men themselves with different jobs. I believe that women are
at a much better social position than before. You see women now obtaining jobs and high
ranking positions in society. Radical feminists claim that the genders are extremely biased
in the favor of men. You hear the terms "rape culture" and misogynist pop up frequently
in women's rights in the news. It has evolved into a monster that has diverged off from
the primary term of equality. Instead of equality the issue regarding women's rights is now
about privilege. One extreme example is this example as follows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iARHCxAMAO0. You see women berating and
spewing profanities at men, calling them sympathizers and more. And so the conclusion is;
No both genders are not equal, but women are at a vastly better position compared to the
1960s.