Are you a modern woman who believes in equal rights? Do you feel that women are continuing to face detrimental societal subjugation due to the continued presence of sexist attitudes? Would you consider yourself a “feminist?”
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, feminism is the belief that men and women should have full social, economic and political equality. While you may not consider yourself a full-blown feminist, you might believe women to still be at a disadvantage and you probably support the idea of full gender equality. The idea of “rape culture” persists, and, according to Feminist magazine, “single women make only 90 percent of what single men make.”. It’s obvious that there is still a great deal of gender discrimination when it comes to the treatment of individuals in society. So we should all stand up for the rights of women. Women should be completely equal to men, right?
Equal means something is the same for each person, and is unchanging, which seems like a fine ideal. Women should be able to enjoy and capitalize on the same privileges and opportunities as a man. Women should not be ostracized from educational, career or social opportunities simply because they are a different sex. However, the ideal of equality becomes a little messy in practice. If equality means absolute sameness in treatment, then women would also be giving up pivotal rights allowed to them due to gender discrimination. The truth is, there are two distinct biological sexes which inevitably function differently in certain aspects of society. Therefore, complete equality is a naïve concept to say the least.
In modern America, sexism or gender discrimination is practiced on a mostly benign level and often proves beneficial towards women. To understand this, we can consider some key examples of social practices that are accepted and even expected, but rooted entirely in the inequality of genders. First, if the idea of complete gender equality existed, would it still be wrong for a man to hit a woman? Many women are certainly willing to give up the privilege of male chivalry in the name of gender equality, but would they be willing to give up protections against physical violence based on gender?
For example, if a man in a bar continuously provokes another man and eventually receives a punch in the face, many people would not condemn the man being provoked. But say a woman were to behave in the same way; would the idea of equality pervade, and the provoked man be permitted to take out his anger in a physical manner? Of course not. This is an extreme example, demonstrating that equality carried out to the fullest extent is somewhat undesirable. Women and men are not going to be treated exactly the same because they are not the same.
What about maternity leave or the draft? All of this depends on the existence of some degree of gender discrimination. In fact, maternity leave and domestic violence are paradoxically part of the platform for many women’s rights groups. Women are legally entitled to the same opportunities as men. They can vote, attend college, become doctors, go to prison, etc. The remaining threads of sexism don’t truly affect one’s ability to function and achieve fulfillment throughout society on any significant level.
I am not insisting that we ought to allow men to dominate society. I am only saying that sex differentiation is inevitable. As a society, we are at the point in our evolution where the experience of differences are an individual matter based upon how you define yourself. Yes, women are sometimes seen as inferior and are often sexualized. Yes, women make less than men on average. Yes, there are more men than women in high-powered jobs. But women are not prevented from achieving these things, and are not forced to submit themselves to any idealized standard of “womanhood.” They do, however, still have the ability to use some aspects of sexism to their advantage. So if you’re a woman, remember that. And the next time a world war breaks out and the draft is instated, be thankful you live in a place where gender discrimination still exists.