From tedious dress code rules enforced in school to young girls 3rd world countries being denied an education just because they are a female; feminism is very important. Social media has created a bad stigma around the word but feminism is simply just a women’s right to be equal politically, socially, and economically to men. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath’s Tale was written all the way in the Medieval Times and in a very twisted way, explains that all women desire is to be equal. That story was written long ago so why are we still fighting the same battle?
The idea of men and women not being equal starts with our writing. Why is it proper when listing people to put the man before the women? In movies and television shows, why do we see women playing the “soccer mom” role while men are working and being successful? This is especially apparent in movies and shows aimed towards children so that is where this mindset starts. If a woman is doing the same job as a man and has the same qualifications why should the man get paid more? In terms of our behavior, why is it considered “lady like” to remain quiet and polite all the time while men are allowed to be unruly and outspoken because “boys will be boys”? Over time these ideas become instilled in our brains and just become something we are used to but when you stop and think, is any of this really okay? One of the many solutions to this problem could be to be more aware of how we unconsciously think of others and learn to not always associate certain words, behaviors and character traits for a certain gender.
On the other hand, each day there are more people catching onto these problems and not only speaking on them but working to make a change. I believe for all the bad that is put out into the world, you so get some good back. That Cosby Show was about an upper middle class family living in New York and the best part of the show was how the mother, Clair Huxtable (played by Phylicia Rashad) is portrayed. She is a successful attorney who is well-respected and treated just as equally as her husband. She is not just the mom who is always cooking and cleaning, nor is her husband more successful than her. Feminism also works for not just women but men too. There are so many stereotypes for what each gender is expected to do and who's to say which we can and cannot do? This means guys can openly express their feelings and not be classified as any of the derogatory words they’re called when they do. They do not have to live up to the expectations of being the one in the relationship who brings home all the money, because feminism says who cares! We are both capable of doing that.
